CPR Recommendations Have Changed

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That must be an American initiative only...they're still recommending chest compressions and breathing assistance up here...but I have a barrier mouthpiece in my truck's medical kit that is meant for that reason...

are they going to call it CR, as they've done away with the pulmonary bit?
 
I think in a lot of cases the first person there is the help and I will continue to use mouth to mouth to ventilate, using a mask or barrier.

Ever since I can remember it has been a tug of war between the AHA and the Red Cross as to which one could make changes every year. You then throw in some Doc that wants to make a name for him/herself and their research hospital. It's no wonder the general public stay confused and unsure what to do. My only hope is that they will do something.
 
WTF!!??? What the heck is pumping stale blood thur you heart going to do if it is void of O2?? This GREATLY reduces how well CPR works if you do not rescue breathe for the PT.

All this because someone would rather watch someone die than take a chance they might catch something. Frigging sad I tell you! :(
 
As a firefighter / emt, and a CPR instructor, I agree to a certain point with Firefyter-emt. There have been a number of changes since the 2005 updates. But I believe the advantage of the article is to get people to at least do something until help arrives. I have been on many scenes where everyone was just standing there and the person was as blue as could be. That is discouraging. So taken in context of the article, hopefully more people will at least do something. The part about "works just as well as standard CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults" is misleading for the reasons below. They should have said for short periods of time.

Keeping a barrier on a key chain or in a purse is a great idea. Remember, they said nothing about how long this "hands only technique" will be effective. As Firefyter-emt eluded to, after a short time, there has to be oxygen introduced or you are just prolonging the inevitable. In many areas, EMS may take a long time to get there. Take a good CPR class.

Dan
 
It may be sad, and even considered disgusting by some. But the truth is they will. If telling people to do mouth to mouth will cause them to just stand there and watch. and telling them to do just chest compressions means they will actually do chest compressions. then more people will actually be helped this way. And the bottom line is that no person has any guarantee of any assistance. Remember this is about trying to reduce the number of people that do die and reality is that people will not help if they think they have to put there mouth on someone. as for barriers, few people have them. even fewer would know how to use one if they did, and even of those that do, not many would take the time to retrieve it in a real emergency. For me this comes down to chasing the illusion of the ideal or really standing a chance of someone getting any help at all.

Originally posted by Firefyter-emt



All this because someone would rather watch someone die than take a chance they might catch something. Frigging sad I tell you! :(
Click to expand...
 
The article I read this morning said that the victim generally "gasps" air while getting the hands only CPR. There is a power struggle between AHA and Red Cross that is, quite literally, killing people. I carry a barrier in the truck and a short airway tube. Never had to use either, but they are there. Personally, I believe this will encourage people to help who might not have otherwise.
 
We have adjusted to the changes several times in the last years. I keep waiting for them to bring back mast pants!!!
I was told that the theory is the blood in the system has oxygen in it from the last breath.
 
As far as the AHA and the Red Cros is concerned, and how it relates to the article, the procedure for the adult CPR is basically identical. I hold certifications from both agencies. The gasping is basically what is called "agonal breathing". These are not sufficient for life.

The fact is that this article seeks to simply explain that there is a certain amount of oxygen remaining in the blood stream to sustain the cells so long as the blood is moved (Compressions). However, it is not a long term solution and people should not be lead to believe that it is.

As I stated earlier, some clarifications should have been made in the article.

The goal is good. Try something! The worst thing you can do is nothing. If compressions are started before EMS arrives, the person actually has a much better chance of being revived by defibrillation. This has to do with moving ATP (the energy component within your cells) into the cardiac cells, so the heart will have the energy to be "jump started".

I am simply hopeful that more people would read this and have more confidence that they can do the person good. They won't if they do nothing because they are afraid of making mouth contact to a stranger.
 
I just read in another article that they are bringing back the "Cardiac Thump"!! Great, so we now can go back to broken ribs too! Idiots, I swear before you know it they will have jars of leaches on the ER!
 
We were supposed to ditch the leeches? [:p] On a serious note, I appreciate those of you with a medical, EMT or other related background chiming in. While I understand the reluctance to breathe for someone else, I was trained to do just that. This old dog will keep his old tricks.
 
Lou, you can always cast them in pr.
I took the AHA class in Feb and the instructor mentioned this change. She would not comment on it one way or the other when we asked about the change. She taught it w/ the breathing. Seems like the right way to go. Would it hurt survival if you still did do the breathing?
 
Just for clarity.
The changes do not apply to those with advanced medical training such as doctors, nurses, medics, etc.
This is a change to get everyday citizens to safely provide some sort of help.
I also am a FF/medic and I do not want to swap spit with just any stranger. I have had pts in cardiac arrest who have had some pretty nasty stuff. I am trained to never touch a pt without all of the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), so why should someone with just CPR training or no training touch someone without any protection.

Now, off duty, I would help someone without hesitation. It is what I am trained to do. I "risk a lot to save a lot". But I would not think less of someone who did not.

Chris
 
Chris, I have to agree with you. My training is scant and in the distant past. But, I still have a helping attitude and will do what I am able in an emergency situation. With limits. I have to admit that I probably wouldn't be able to bring myself to give mouth to mouth to certain people. Especially with the knowledge that most of the time they will vomit, maybe right into my mouth. The new guidelines do help in the sense that now, perhaps, more people will attempt CPR than in the past. Some help is better than none. BTW, I might have mentioned this, in my truck I carry a mouth to mouth protective device, a short airway tube (two actually, one child size) and an epinephrine pen. In the tool box is a larger first aid kit.
 
The thing that people forget is that when you're doing CPR, the person is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Seriously.

The brain may be alive, but the heart and breathing has stopped. So unless something is done, that person is not going to live.

So break a few ribs, if that's what it takes. Better a broken rib and alive than dead and intact ribs...

I was trained in the ski patrol, and took BTLS, so I'll continue to do what I was trained to do...but I do like that they are trying to get people involved to do SOMETHING!

Andrew
 
Originally posted by maxwell_smart007

a short airway tube (two actually, one child size) and an epinephrine pen. In the tool box is a larger first aid kit.
Click to expand...

Have you intibated someone before? I was trained how to do it, but never actually done it...
Click to expand...

Practice, once on a healthy person. Saw the films. Long time ago. I know enough to not injure them further trying. This is a short airway, not intubation. My son, an ER physician, says an untrained person should never try full intubation. Again, if the patient is dying and no one with more skill is available, I might be able to help. If nothing is done, there will, for sure, be no help or hope.
 
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