Save a Life with CPR

Could you save a life with CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation?

November is CPR Awareness Month and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is calling on Canadians to learn the necessary skills to save a life.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the vast majority of cardiac arrests - up to 80 per cent - occur in shopping malls, workplaces, out on the street, and mostly in homes, all places where trained medical help likely is not close at hand.

When cardiac arrest strikes, every minute counts. You can help save a life with CPR.

Cardiac arrest - What is it?

Cardiac arrest means the heart stops. It stops pumping blood through the body, and the victim stops breathing, loses consciousness and does not respond to anyone or anything. Cardiac arrest strikes immediately without warning and can happen in a number of situations - heart attack, near-drowning and electrocution, for example.

Whatever the cause, cardiac arrest is life-threatening and if not treated immediately, can be fatal.

How CPR Helps

Immediate response to cardiac arrest improves the victim’s chance of survival by restoring blood circulation and reducing the danger of long-term damage to the brain and other organs.

First-response to cardiac arrest includes CPR and use of a defibrillator, which “shocks” the heart back into its normal rhythm.

CPR - a Basic Life Skill

CPR is a basic life skill and training in the skill is a small investment in time and money with an invaluable return. If you are certified, remember to retrain, keep your rescue skills up-to-date and ready to use in case of an emergency.

For information on CPR training courses in your community, please visit:
http://sja.ca/splash.aspx

Performing CPR

Based on information from MayoClinic.com.

The most important thing to remember in an emergency situation is: Step Forward. There is no downside to performing CPR.

Starting CPR:

If someone more qualified to help the victim is present, assist them in their life-saving efforts and follow their instructions.

Before you begin any rescue efforts, make sure the area is safe to both victim and rescuer - no live wires, broken glass, fire or other environmental hazards.

Check the victim for responsiveness - tap him on the shoulder and shout, “Are you okay?”

Do not move or shake the victim if you suspect spinal or neck injuries.

If the victim does not respond, immediately tell someone to call 9-1-1 and to obtain a defibrillation unit if possible. Begin CPR immediately.

If you are alone, call 9-1-1 first. Get a defibrillation unit if possible. Begin CPR immediately.
Use a defibrillation unit as soon as it is available.

Chest Compressions and Breaths:

Chest compressions buy critical time before a defibrillator is available, but don’t delay compressions while searching for a defibrillator. Delegate that to someone else, while you deal immediately with the victim.

Chest compressions help get blood flow moving again. The fewer interruptions for short lifesaving breaths, the better. Current guidelines recommend 30 chest compressions for every two rescue breaths.

Remember your ABCs: Airway, Breathing and Circulation

AIRWAY: This means “Clear the airway”

Make sure the victim is lying on his back on a flat, firm surface.
Kneel next to the victim.
Tilt the victim’s head back: put your palm on the forehead and let your other hand cup the chin. Then tilt the victim’s head back. This opens the airway.
Give yourself no more than 10 seconds to assess whether the victim is breathing normally. Gasping should not be considered “normal breathing”. The chest should be moving up and down. You should hear the breath sounds and feel the breath on your cheek and ear. If the person isn’t breathing normally, start rescue breathing immediately.

BREATHING: This means that you start breathing for the person.

With the head still tilted back, pinch the nostrils shut and cover the person’s mouth with yours, forming a seal. If the mouth is badly injured, blow the air into the person’s nose.
Give one breath - for one second only. Check to see if the chest rises. Proceed with the second breath. If the chest doesn’t rise, tilt the head once again, and THEN give the second rescue breath.
Proceed to chest compressions after the two breaths.

CIRCULATION: Get the blood circulating again with chest compressions.

Place the heel of the hand over the centre of the victim’s chest, right between the nipples.
Put your other hand on top of the first.
Keep your elbows straight and push down with all your upper body weight. Compress the chest about two inches.
PUSH HARD AND PUSH FAST, about two compressions per second.
After 30 compressions, check for breathing again, do the rescue breaths - just 2 - then back to compressions.
PUSH HARD AND PUSH FAST!
If there is an automated external defibrillator (AED) available, open the kit and follow the instructions. A 9-1-1 operator may be able to guide you on how to use the defibrillator if you’re not trained in its use. Don’t use an AED on babies younger than 1.
If there’s no defibrillator, continue CPR manually until there are signs of movement or until emergency medical help takes over.

To Perform CPR on a Child

CPR on children ages 1 through 8 is essentially the same for an adult with these key differences:

Use only one hand when doing the chest compressions.

Breathe more gently into the mouth of the child.

The compression/breath rate is the same as for an adult: 2 breaths and 30 chest compressions. Repeat and repeat until help arrives or the victim regains consciousness.

To Perform CPR on an Infant

Cardiac arrest in an infant less than one year old is usually the result of a lack of oxygen, such as from drowning or choking. If you know the airway is blocked, do first aid for choking but, if you can’t figure out why the baby is not breathing, perform CPR:

Don’t shake the baby! Stroke the baby instead and watch for a response, such as movement.

Give two gentle rescue breaths. For infants, this means puffing air from your cheeks - not from deep in your lungs as you would for an older child or adult. If the airway still seems blocked, check for foreign items in the baby’s mouth, and scoop them out.

Chest compressions are different on a baby. Picture an imaginary horizontal line between the baby’s nipples. Place two fingers of one hand just BELOW this line, in the center of the chest. Gently compress the chest to about one-third to one-half the depth of the chest.

Compress the chest rapidly - about 100 times per minute. Count out loud as you pump the baby’s chest gently with your two fingers.

Give two breaths after every 30 chest compressions.

Continue until you see signs of life or until a professional arrives on the scene to relieve you.

CPR and Self-Training

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada has developed a self-training kit that people can use in their home, workplace, or community setting to train themselves and others.

The kit, called CPR Anytime, includes an instructional DVD, an inflatable mini-mannequin and an easy-to-understand manual. The cost is $35 - inexpensive if you consider you can train, and retrain, any number of people with it.

For more information on CPR Anytime, or to purchase a kit visit www.cpranytime.ca or call 1-888-LAERDAL

About Defibrillators

A defibrillator is a device that delivers an electrical shock to the heart to return it to a more normal, healthy rhythm. Automated external defibrillators (AED) can be used by almost anyone with a bit of training. In an emergency, it may be necessary to get the 9-1-1 operator to talk you through using a defibrillator if you do not know how to operate it.

Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) cause most sudden cardiac arrests. Using a defibrillator in the first few minutes after a heart attack or cardiac arrest has been shown to increase survival rates dramatically. While CPR helps to maintain circulation and ventilation for a short period of time, survival rates in rescue attempts that include defibrillation within the first few minutes after a cardiac arrest are higher than 50 per cent.

In March 2007, the Ontario government provided the Ontario Heart & Stroke Foundation for the creation of a ‘Thousand Defibrillators Program’ for Ontario’s recreational facilities, placing defibrillators in arenas and community centres across Ontario.

See the press release here:
http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/english/news/2007/032907.asp

CPR is a Life-saver

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is simple, safe and easy for anyone to learn - adults and children alike. Everyone should get familiar with this very basic skill and acquire the confidence to administer it.

If you understand even the basics of CPR, the most important thing to remember in an emergency situation is to act quickly and decisively. Step forward. Identify yourself as someone who knows CPR and can help. Take charge of the situation until someone more qualified is present to relieve you.

There is no downside to attempting to resuscitate someone, and you can do a good deed that someone will never forget - save a life.

For More Information on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Cardiac Arrest:

http://ww2.heartandstroke.ca/Page.asp?PageID=1975&ArticleID=5145&Src=heart&From=SubCategory

http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=000637&tid=021

http://www.sja.ca/