CPR: Use your hands only!

The guidelines have changed

For many years the American Heart Association recommended a CPR technique that involved alternating between mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions.  That was changed in 2008 in favor of the compression-only CPR technique for the general public.  For the layperson, this took away the squeamishness about performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a stranger.

Doubts about the effectiveness of this change were quieted by an American Medical Association study which found that survival rates are better with the hands-only technique than the traditional CPR.  It’s important to know that if you find yourself in the position where you need to use CPR – don’t be afraid.  Your actions can only help.  If you need to administer CPR, here are the steps:

  1. Call 911 first.
  2. With the victim on their back, put the heel of one hand over the other, and place them in the center of the victim’s chest.
  3. Lock your elbows.  With your shoulders directly over your hands, fall forward and use your body weight; press 100 times per minute.  The American Heart Association suggests doing compressions to the beat of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” – the hit song from the movie, “Saturday Night Fever (1977), which landed in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1978 for four weeks!
  4. Continue until the paramedics arrive.

Iphone, Android and Palm Pre users can download an app from the American Heart Association for hands-only CPR to guide them through the process.  This app will be available for Blackberries soon.  http://handsonlycpr.org/

 


 

 

 

Originally from http://www.followupsystems.net/sys/nl/ai.esp?iid=4666&cid=4ed4204c93654b9d8c227a00b0d1a35a&diid=3125&taf=0