No doubt most people are prepared to do whatever it takes to help someone who has collapsed and is not breathing, including administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
But it’s also no secret that many people have qualms about performing CPR, fearing germs or just the “ick†factor.
That’s why it’s good to learn that hands-only CPR works just as well in most cases of cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association. One notable exception is drowning victims, who may still need air blown into their lungs.
Because more people are likely to use the hands-only approach, more lives will be saved each year. It’s also easier to do: Simply press deeply on the victim’s chest, about 100 times a minute, until paramedics arrive with a defibrillator.
6 Comments
There is more than one exception, such as longer periods of CPR, but in the beginning fantastic…whatever will get people to DO it and save a life. Stats show that even a 10 second interruption drops the overall survival rate significantly. SO don’t stop.
Since I’m a professional rescuer, I’d like to see what, if anything, changes in our routine.
One study, I read about a couple days ago said that the successful outcome for heart attack victims increased 3 fold from just compressions before defibriliation.
See though, they teach CPR for lay people, and CPR for professional rescuers. And they’re different. So I”d be very interested to know if this is going to change the way we rescuers do things or not.
I’m getting ready to recert, and I want to teach CPR to professionals. So I’d like to know if I need to wait to do the new requirements or the old.
As an AHA instructor, I can tell you that the new guidelines do not include professionals or “health care providers)
pmom
Another exception?
Oral bleeding or nasal bleeding.
You might have to do more than just blow.
But for lay people I think this is great. I guess I am a “lay person” now, my EMT Certification lapsed years ago.
Thank you little john, I didn’t know if I needed to wait for a different instruction or not.