Among Friends

[BalletBabe]

@Chrystaltree2  I have to disagree with you on this.  I ran ambulance for about 5 years.  I am 4 ft 11 and weigh about 98 pounds.  If I can do it anyone can.  Is it a lot of work , yes, but when it is a matter of life and death, you would be amazed at how much strength you have.

My brother died in his hallway at the age of 45.  If my sister in law would have known CPR, he may have survived.  My other sister in law who was called first, got him to open his eyes, unfortunately she didn't arrive for 10 min.  

Always call 911 first---- Even if you know CPR. Everyone should know how to do it.   

[151949]

Yes, the most important step is to dial 911 before you start because once you start you can't stop, and it is exhausting doing those compressions.

[pitdakota]

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@Chrystaltree2 wrote:

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@Stray wrote:

I as a nurse was certified in advanced life support and have maintained my CPR certification.  I have used it many times on the job and in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, at our condo pool twice , a street fair and on a flight.  I always advised expectant parents to learn CPR before their child was born and often gave a gift certificate for local classes with my baby gift.  

It is important to know and classes were given at our workplace and well attended by employees.  

To purchase a defibrillator is a waste of money unless you live in a very rural area and help would not arrive for a long period of time.  All people needing CPR are not defibrillated, family and friends are nervous and upset during resuscitation and may not perform well using the defibrillator and once one is in your home, you must maintain the machine and when you don't use something daily, it may just be forgotten about and when you need it the batteries are dead....

 Thanks for this.  I thought there might be something new and easy to use for non medical people.  My hubby is an RN who taught CPR at his hospital for years and he always said that even with training and certification,  most non medical people lose the skill with weeks of the class and can do more harm than good.

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Acutally there is a study out that is being reported to the American Heart Association that bystander CPR produces better outcomes for pediatric arrests in the community.  So it is a good thing that non medical people knew CPR in those settings.  Here is just a news blurp about the study:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/871823?src=rss

As a former critical care nurse, yes I keep my certification in CPR and ACLS. 

I don't see any need to have a portable defibrillator at home, but they are important to have at school sports games, factories, places of employment, shopping areas, etc.  

ETA:  Sorry the medscape link requires a membership.  Here is a link to discussion about the study from Yahoo:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bystander-cpr-improves-survival-neurological-outcomes-u-children-14050057...

[jubilant]

I am not certified but after DH's cardiac arrest 4 yrs. ago, I decided I needed to learn.  I went to youtube and watched several youtubers teach how to do it.  They suggested keeping the rhythem to the Bee Gees song "Stayin Alive".  That's a pretty fast pace and I can see where it would exhaust some people.  Thank God a nurse lived next door to DH's friend to give him CPR.  She couldn't have maintained it very long, however, because she had been through a lot of chemo and was weak.  It's amazing to me she could even do it.  Thankfully a first responder lived only a block away and was home.  He heard the call come in.  He was a young big strong guy. Probably what saved DH's life.

[151949]

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@pitdakota wrote:

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@Chrystaltree2 wrote:

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@Stray wrote:

I as a nurse was certified in advanced life support and have maintained my CPR certification.  I have used it many times on the job and in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, at our condo pool twice , a street fair and on a flight.  I always advised expectant parents to learn CPR before their child was born and often gave a gift certificate for local classes with my baby gift.  

It is important to know and classes were given at our workplace and well attended by employees.  

To purchase a defibrillator is a waste of money unless you live in a very rural area and help would not arrive for a long period of time.  All people needing CPR are not defibrillated, family and friends are nervous and upset during resuscitation and may not perform well using the defibrillator and once one is in your home, you must maintain the machine and when you don't use something daily, it may just be forgotten about and when you need it the batteries are dead....

 Thanks for this.  I thought there might be something new and easy to use for non medical people.  My hubby is an RN who taught CPR at his hospital for years and he always said that even with training and certification,  most non medical people lose the skill with weeks of the class and can do more harm than good.

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Acutally there is a study out that is being reported to the American Heart Association that bystander CPR produces better outcomes for pediatric arrests in the community.  So it is a good thing that non medical people knew CPR in those settings.  Here is just a news blurp about the study:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/871823?src=rss

As a former critical care nurse, yes I keep my certification in CPR and ACLS. 

I don't see any need to have a portable defibrillator at home, but they are important to have at school sports games, factories, places of employment, shopping areas, etc.  

ETA:  Sorry the medscape link requires a membership.  Here is a link to discussion about the study from Yahoo:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bystander-cpr-improves-survival-neurological-outcomes-u-children-14050057...

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Actually , pediatric cardiac arrests are much more often due to airway obstruction than adult cardiac arrest. Thus - you really need to start out a pediatric arrest by checking the airway to be certain it is clear.

[pitdakota]

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@151949 wrote:

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@pitdakota wrote:

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@Chrystaltree2 wrote:

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______________________________________________________

Acutally there is a study out that is being reported to the American Heart Association that bystander CPR produces better outcomes for pediatric arrests in the community.  So it is a good thing that non medical people knew CPR in those settings.  Here is just a news blurp about the study:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/871823?src=rss

As a former critical care nurse, yes I keep my certification in CPR and ACLS. 

I don't see any need to have a portable defibrillator at home, but they are important to have at school sports games, factories, places of employment, shopping areas, etc.  

ETA:  Sorry the medscape link requires a membership.  Here is a link to discussion about the study from Yahoo:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bystander-cpr-improves-survival-neurological-outcomes-u-children-14050057...

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Actually , pediatric cardiac arrests are much more often due to airway obstruction than adult cardiac arrest. Thus - you really need to start out a pediatric arrest by checking the airway to be certain it is clear.

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No doubt airway obstruction is responsible for some cardiac arrests in children , but it doesn't account for the largest number of cases of pediatric cardiac arrests. In any event, a health care provider should always start out with positioning the airway and attempting rescue breaths.  If the airway is obstructed, the rescue breather should be able to discern that they are not able to ventilate the infant or child.  Then and only then should the rescuer attempt to clear the airway.  Time is of the essence, so compressions and ventilations  should be started first.  If the airway is obstructed interfering with ventilation, then trying to clear the airway is to be attempted.  PALS certification requires this, as does CPR certification by the American Heart Association & the American Red Cross.

The most common causes pediatric cardiac arrests are due to respiratory failure, drownings, or cardiac abnormalities such as DCM or congenital defects.

At any rate, no matter what the cause of the arrest, it doesn't change the outcome of the study cited here....that bystander CPR (provided by a non-medical provider) produced significantly better long term outcomes than no CPR, which is what was being discussed.  It doesn't take a health care person certified in CPR to produce positive outcomes with CPR in pediatric situations.

The results of the study have now resulted in a larger scale study for adults.  So we will see if the same results hold true for adults.

[deedledeedeedle]

To any nurse on the boards:

Red Cross certified many years ago. Is it true that now compressions go continuously for 1 minute followed by the rescue breaths, then keep repeating until help arrives? Don't know how long I could keep up this pace like I could 30 years ago.

dee

[pitdakota]

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@deedledeedeedle wrote:

To any nurse on the boards:

Red Cross certified many years ago. Is it true that now compressions go continuously for 1 minute followed by the rescue breaths, then keep repeating until help arrives? Don't know how long I could keep up this pace like I could 30 years ago.

dee

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@deedledeedeedle,  it isn't limited to one minute, but rather it is 30 chest compressions, 2 breaths, repeat.  The chest compressions are fast (rate between 100-120/minute).  It is the same whether there is one person performing CPR or 2 people performing CPR.

However, they are now recommending that lay people that are not certified perform chest compressions only until trained professionals arrive.  The rate of chest compressions has increased.  It is fast, and most people wear out pretty quickly. That may change, but that is the current recommendation of the American Heart Association.