CPR Update

We promote water safety all of the time at our swim schools. Our primary focus has been sharing the message of the Safer 3 with our friends at the swim school and their families. One of components of the Safer 3 has been a Safer Response to learn CPR. Now amazing news from the Phoenix Fire Department.

Our local newspaper, The Arizona Republic is reporting that based upon a fire department study people are experiencing an almost 300% increase in lives saved by using the technique of continuous chest compressions.

The message is to "push hard, push fast and increase the chance of survival by circulating oxygenated blood to the victim's heart and brain." the article quotes Dr. Ben Bobrow, medical director of the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Emergency Medicine Services and Trauma System citing a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that reviewed 1,243 cases recorded by two of our valley's fire departments.

The Hands-only CPR encourages the average person to pump on the cardiac victim's chest 200 times every two minutes. Check out the American Heart Association web site that explains technique and also has a video demonstration.

According to the American Heart Association: Adults who suddenly collapse and are not responsive are likely to have sudden cardiac arrest and their chance of survival is nearly zero unless someone takes action immediately. You should call 911 and start giving hard and fast chest compressions in the center of the chest, with minimal interruptions. If sudden cardiac arrest is the cause of the collapse, Hands-Only CPR is an easy, effective way for any bystander to more than double the victim's chance for survival. If an adult has collapsed for reasons other than sudden cardiac arrest, Hands-Only CPR could still help by causing the person to respond (begin to move, breathe normally or speak). If that occurs, Hands-Only CPR can be stopped. Otherwise, chest compressions should continue until EMS providers arrive.

So if you are like some of my family members who freak out in trying to remember the old sequencing of chest compressions to breaths, this new recommendation is so simple. Just do the chest compressions and wait for the emergency responders.