What is a precordial thump? Does it work?
My wife says that they don’t teach this maneuver any more in ACLS, but that most experienced folks use it. The thump is a carefully delivered punch in the chest (my parents always taught me not to hit people, so this is hard for me). The idea is to strike downwards with your fist onto the middle of the sternum, right around where you’d do compressions, from a height of about 18 inches, full force, hitting with the fleshy part of your fist instead of the knuckles. I’ve seen this work myself, as I’ve mentioned above, and I’d always want people to know how useful it can be. You’ll hear the old guys stand up when they see VT, and yell down the hall “Hit him!
