HEALTH Q and A

When a person is seized by cardiac arrest and collapses, unconscious, with no pulse, immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may be the only thing that keeps him/her alive until medical help arrives. But if you saw someone in that state, would you know what to do? Would you feel confident enough to try and re-start the heart of a friend or a loved one? The American Heart Association (AHA) is hoping that new guidelines released in March 2008, which include a focus on chest compressions only and not the traditional mouth-to-mouth breathing, will help bystanders take quick decisive action.

Bruce J. Darrow, MD, assistant professor of cardiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, says the average adult can survive about four minutes without blood circulating and oxygenating through the lungs before permanent organ damage and even sudden cardiac death begin. He says many rapid compressions are especially critical for getting blood to the brain, since the brain uses more of the oxygen in the blood than any other organ. “What the compression does is take some of the blood that still has oxygen in it and pushes it up to the brain where the blood is being depleted of oxygen,” Darrow explains.

While doctors agree that CPR training is valuable for everyone, they also say that even untrained bystanders should try to save a life whenever possible. In fact, the AHA was prompted to begin its “Hands Only” campaign last year in recognition that more bystanders need to take action, but were unsure about traditional CPR — as well as recent evidence noting the essentially equal effectiveness of the two methods. “There is little danger to performing CPR, especially now that rescue breathing is not always necessary,” says Mount Sinai cardiologist Eric Adler, MD. “Performing CPR for a long period of time can be strenuous, however, so if you are with others who are trained, it is recommended that you switch off to avoid being fatigued.”

Dr. Darrow stresses that CPR should only be performed on someone who is unresponsive, with no pulse or no heartbeat. He also notes that CPR, even done by a trained bystander or emergency worker, does not guarantee resuscitation. “In movies and television, it seems like a person who receives CPR magically comes back to life almost every time,” Dr. Darrow says. “In reality, under 10 percent of people survive cardiac arrest outside the hospital, and a good CPR is essential for those who do survive.”

Here’s how to do compression-only CPR:

• Check to see if the person is breathing and has a pulse. If not, begin CPR.

• Place the heel of one hand in the middle of the person’s chest and put your other hand on top of the first, with fingers interlaced (see photo on Page D-1).

• Push down on the chest between one and two inches at a rate that would equal 100 compressions per minute.

• Pause after 30 compressions and check again for a pulse.

• If there is no pulse, continue doing more sets of 30 compressions until a pulse resumes or the paramedics arrive.

Source:philstar.com/Article (Health And Family)