IMPORTANT!! "Hands Only C P R" for Adult Cardiac Arrests

Published Apr 1, 2008

181 Posts

Here in the Philippines medical assistance may be delayed for some time but YOU MAY SAVE A LIFE by performing Hands Only CPR on an adult cardiac arrest victim. The American Medical Association has new guidelines that greatly simplify CPR. Please read the following:

March 31, 2008, 2:54PM

For adults, 'hands-only' CPR is sufficient, doctors say

By STEPHANIE NANO

Associated Press

NEW YORK-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 today 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.

This action should be taken only for adults who unexpectedly collapse, stop breathing and are unresponsive. The odds are that the person is having cardiac arrest-the heart suddenly stops-which can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems. In such a case, the victim still has ample air in the lungs and blood and compressions keep blood flowing to the brain, heart and other organs.

A child who collapses is more likely to primarily have breathing problems-and in that case, mouth-to-mouth breathing should be used. That also applies to adults who suffer lack of oxygen from a near-drowning, drug overdose, or carbon monoxide poisoning. In these cases, people need mouth-to-mouth to get air into their lungs and bloodstream.

But in either case, "Something is better than nothing," Sayre said.

The CPR guidelines had been inching toward compression-only. The last update, in 2005, put more emphasis on chest pushes by alternating 30 presses with two quick breaths; those "unable or unwilling" to do the breaths could do presses alone.

CONTINUE:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5662279.html