Archive for July, 2019

What Do You Do If a Rib Crack during CPR

Passersby, even those who’ve undergone CPR training, will tell you they won’t touch a victim because they fear they’ll break the patient’s ribs when resuscitating.

What if a rib crack during CPR and your rescuing attempts do more damage than good to you victim?

Well, ribs do crack more frequent than you’d imagine. And in no instance of ribs broken during CPR does the passerby intend to harm the victim. It is often an accident that occurs in haste to save a victim.

If you still doubt it, here are the stats to prove it.

CPR common mistakes: What Blunders Are You Likely to Make When Performing CPR?

The human brain can only stay without oxygen for 4-6 minutes after which the victim may experience irreversible brain damage and ultimately, death.

CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a rescue procedure that is carried out on victims of cardiac arrests and other injuries to save their lives.

 In essence, it involves slowing down the rate of brain damage by triggering the flow of blood into the brain and body.

CPR helps to revive victims whose hearts have failed and who are not breathing.

It ensures that the victim has enough oxygen supply in the brain and other critical body organs.

When administered early and accurately, it can add significant time for a victim’s life as you wait for medical personnel to arrive at the scene. In contrast CPR common mistakes may increase risks.

Cardiac arrest happens when the heart fails to beat caused by the irregularity of electrical impulses in the heart; a process known as arrhythmia.

Arrhythmia is a malfunction in the heart’s capability to beat in a regular pattern. When this happens, the heart shuts down, and blood fails to reach vital organs of the body, thus causing organ failure.

Annually, about 10,000 cases of cardiac arrest are reported to occur at places of work. 92% of them die before they arrive in a hospital according to the American Heart Association.

Administering CPR to Adults? Here’s What You Should Know

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. When you notice that an individual is not breathing, CPR steps (chest compressions and mouth to mouth rescue breaths) could come in handy in restoring the circulation of blood and oxygen in the victim’s body.

If an AED is available, it could be used to restart a heart that has an abnormal rhythm.

It is vital that you check the airway to confirm breathing before administering CPR to adults. If he/she is breathing, call for help before proceeding with resuscitation.

CPR training saves lives often, especially in places where medics would take a bit longer to come to a victim’s rescue.

While training classes are an excellent way people gain knowledge of cardiac arrests and carrying out CPR, an unskilled person can also be valuable in the survival of the victim.

Bystander CPR Instructions: When Should You Administer CPR?

What happens if you are walking down the road and spot someone bending or lying on the grass. How do you determine if the person needs CPR or not?

Well, here’s one of the Bystander CPR Instructions to remember; knowing how to execute it is one thing; doing it is another.

Often, people fear using their CPR skills on individuals who may not need it.

Under many circumstances, the person who comes to the rescue of the victim often has no clue whether the victim is suffering from cardiac arrest as per the signs and symptoms that they have acquired in training.

What Are Some CPR Statistics and Facts?

In America alone, sudden cardiac arrest results in the death of more than 900 adults. Out of 550000 people who have coronary heart disease, 335000 die each year due to complications from the condition or lack of proper treatment/earlier detection and treatment.

According to CPR statistics by the America Heart Association, 95% of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest die before arriving at a health facility. Among all these victims, we only have 6% surviving.

However, it is possible to increase the CPR survival rates of patients by receiving CPR trained and guidance on how to handle people with SCA.

More than 80% of the cases of cardiac arrest happen at home or in a private setting. Therefore, gaining training and information on the general procedures on how to carry out CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) will help increase the chances of survival for the victim, and save lives.

Heads up CPR Study: Can It Serve as a Standard Emergency procedure for Human Cardiac Arrest?

Heads-up Animal-tested CPR is Not Ready for Out-of-clinic Human Cardiac Arrest Care. Find Out Why!

Medical leaders will need to conduct further heads up CPR study before adopting this new resuscitation technique that has been tested on animals.

While we have cases where medics and emergency safety providers may need to use some application of the of a heads-up CPR method, moderation and care must prevail because the idea of heads-up CPR is based entirely on animal studies.

There are no conclusive findings for the best way to implement this practice in an outside-the-clinic environment.

Why Bystander CPR Rates for Women Remain Low

Several stats agree that women are less likely to receive CPR from bystanders that men; the question is why?

According to a Resuscitation symposium by the American Heart Association’s, these low bystander CPR rates are due to concerns of inappropriate contact or the fear of causing injury even in “virtual” females during training.

Cardiac arrest is the abrupt malfunction of the heart’s electrical system, most times without any previous symptoms.

America records a very high number – 350,000 – of out-of-hospital of cardiac arrests every year. And though the rates of survival are below 12 percent, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation can double or triple a patient’s survival chances.

In the past, studies have indicated that females who suffer cardiac arrest outside medical facilities receive CPR less often than males, said Sarah M. Perman, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at the Denver-based University of Colorado School of Medicine and primary author on the study.

Hands-Only CPR facts: Is Bystander Issued Hands-Only CPR Useful?

The American Heart Association’s journal featured research by Swedish researchers on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest rescue.

The findings showed rates of bystander CPR went up almost twofold compression-only/Hands-only CPR increased sixfold over 18 years. Other hands only CPR facts showed the chances of living doubled for all forms of CPR compared to no CPR.

Following the increased adoption of hands-only CPR as a replacement to the standard CPR involving mouth-to-mouth and chest compression, the researchers studied the impact of the straightforward Hands-Only CPR approach and linked between the method of CPR performed and survival of the patient for 30 days.

In case you have to rescue a person from a dire situation, it is absolutely imperative that you be well-equipped for the task at hand.

In fact, if you are not equipped for first aid, there is little you can do in an emergency situation. For example, if a person has suffered a heart failure, you will need a defibrillator to get his heart beating again. In case a man is bleeding heavily from any extremity, you will require a tourniquet to stem the bleeding and thereby save his life.

However, you might not always face a life-threatening situation. On the contrary, you might just need a few painkillers to cure a headache or fever.  Hence, your first aid kit must contain a few essential items to ensure your well-being at all times.