Hands-only CPR okayed by American Heart Association

[giza]

This is all sorts of cool:

NEW YORK (AP) -- You can skip the mouth-to-mouth breathing and just press on the chest to save a life.

In a major change, the American Heart Association said Monday that hands-only CPR -- rapid, deep presses on the victim's chest until help arrives -- works just as well as standard CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults.

Experts hope bystanders will now be more willing to jump in and help if they see someone suddenly collapse. Hands-only CPR is simpler and easier to remember and removes a big barrier for people skittish about the mouth-to-mouth breathing.

"You only have to do two things. Call 911 and push hard and fast on the middle of the person's chest," said Dr. Michael Sayre, an emergency medicine professor at Ohio State University who headed the committee that made the recommendation.

Hands-only CPR calls for uninterrupted chest presses -- 100 a minute -- until paramedics take over or an automated external defibrillator is available to restore a normal heart rhythm.

The rest of the article is over here.

The article goes on to state that not having to give mouth to mouth makes it easier for an untrained person to do CPR ("press on the chest"), but that it increases the victim's chance of survival by 2 to 3 times. Apparently there is enough oxygen in the person's lungs and blood that it is not completely necessary to do rescue breathing.

Unfortunately, my training is the "2 rescue breaths followed by 30 chest compressions" kind. Only by following that in a cardiac event can I be protected under the Good Samaritan laws. So I guess this means I get to go get re-certified under the new guidelines now... :-P

Comments

[rassah.livejournal.com]

I heard that without a defibrillator, CPR (with or without breaths) only has about a 3% to 5% chance of actually working for someone who has had cardiac arrest. I.E. it'll keep you alive long enough untill one gets there, but if one isn't available, you're pretty much dead :p Wonder how true that is.

[giza.livejournal.com]

The article citied a 6% survival rate for patients that go into arrest outside of a hospital. Note that CPR/defibrillator usage is not mentioned so I suspect that's the overall survival rate.

If CPR makes the rates go up by 2-3x, we're looking at a 12-18% chance of survival.

It's not stellar, but it's way better than 0%.

[boomeroo.livejournal.com]

It depends on what has caused the heart attack to happen...and there are a number of different causes. The only one (and most common situation) an AED is used for is ventricular fibrillation, which is an abnormal heart rhythm that does not supply the body with blood at all. There are a (very) few times the body by itself is able to correct the abnormality in rhythm. The AED shocks the heart, effectively STOPPING the abnormal rhythm (contrary to the popular belief that it 'restarts' the heart), in hopes that the brain and heart will be able to 'reboot' themseves back into an effective rhythm. Giza, I think your survival rate is attached to that (having an AED used within a short period of the cardiac arrest happening).

[alphaggek.livejournal.com]

So I guess this means I get to go get re-certified under the new guidelines now.

That all depends on if you want to go with a dumbed down course/certification until the latest guidelines from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) International Conference on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science (ECC) with Treatment Recommendations. They're due soon, the last one happened in 2005. ASHI participates in this conference and follows the guidelines and recommendations.

For those you who don't know, I'm the instructor that taught Giza's CPR class :)

[boomeroo.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I'm an AHA instructor myself, hadn't heard about this one coming. I -did- hear that the compressions only protocol was gaining momentum in Europe, but we weren't sure if/when it was going to cross the pond.

[elfasi.livejournal.com]

People try to sue first-aiders who help resuscitate somebody?

[giza.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened.

I have been told that there has been no *successful* suit for Wrongful Life, though.

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere else that the CPR success rates were much lower than that, but still, better to try something than nothing at all.

The new method too is far easier for people to accomplish, especially those who were fearful of mouth to mouth.