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Change in CPR guidelines for Heart Attacks
By Christina | March 31, 2008
Mouth to mouth breathing is no longer the standard for emergency response to help a heart attack victim. The rule now is first call 911 and then begin rapid, deep presses on the victim’s chest until help arrives. Interestingly, one of the main reasons people cite for not helping in an emergency heart attack situation is not recalling how to perform the mouth to mouth combined with chest compressions rescue method (CPR). Another reason people refuse to step in is the mouth to mouth exchange of bodily fluids. Thirdly, people fear being sued if they help a victim and something goes wrong. (This fear should be of no consequence since there are laws to protect the person who helps, The Good Samaritan Law.)The new procedure is simply to press on the victim’s chest 100 times per minute without ceasing until Paramedics arrive. This should only be done on adults who unexpectedly collapse, stop breathing and are unresponsive. Adults who collapse and are unresponsive typically are suffering from heart problems.  In the event that it is a child which collapses and is unresponsive this is most likely a case of breathing problems and so mouth to mouth would be necessary.
These changes have been implemented 2 years ahead of the next scheduled update but have been rushed because of the number of deaths that occur outside the hospital from cardiac arrest. An estimated 310,000 people die each year from heart attack, only 6% of those that occur outisde the hospital survive. The chances of survival with some form of CPR are doubled, even tripled but less than a third get help.
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Topics: General |
