CPR - It could save a life. With a difference.

VeNT said:
isn't it 1 in 14,000 people actually survive having a heart attack and being brought back by CPR. ie to go home and live on rather than wake up in the hosp for 4 hours then die again.
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Yeah I was told it was something like 1 in 40000, but the figures give you an idea that CPR alone won't really save their lives, all your doing is keeping them viable until someone with a defibrilator turns up.

I was told only start CPR if you're prepared to keep doing it until someone turns up with a de-fib kit, even if that takes half an hour or more.

I was taught the 30:2 and the question was asked about the change from 15:3 and our tutor did say that the latest research points to the compressions being by far the more important thing to do.
 
naffa said:
Just out of interest, isn't it dangerous to attempt CPR if you're not not properly trained and qualified to do so?
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At my most recent training we were told to sing "Nelly the Elephant" in our heads when doing chest compressions. Apparently that's about the right timing?!:eek:
 
Just hope you don't get what a Cadet Instructor of mine did, he performed CPR on a guy in the middle of the street until an ambulance arrived, they said he saved the guys life but managed to crack a ribs in the process.

Next week the guy tried to sue him. Unsuccessfully I should add but still.
 
That reminds me of a comical moment at police training school.

We were doing CPR in the morning on full size dummies that had a plastic Mike Flowers pop band style wig that was removable.

One of the lads went in to the afternoon class 5 mins early, removed the wig, hid the dummy and lay on the floor in a skew wiff fashion where the dummy was. Most of the class was in on it.

People filed in and stepped over him, including the instructor and didn't bat an eyelid until he sat up. Honestly, I was in tears.

Sleep well folks. You are in good hands.
 
naffa said:
Just out of interest, isn't it dangerous to attempt CPR if you're not not properly trained and qualified to do so?
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One way to look at it is that they're not any more dead if you get it wrong. Obviously if you can see a trained professional running towards the victim then starting up CPR if you don't know what you are doing probably isn't a worthwhile exercise but if it's just the victim and you then you're unlikely to be harming them more than if you did nothing.

sniffy said:
I didn't know you applied enough force to crack ribs :eek:
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It's also relatively common to break ribs if you do the Heimlich manoever correctly (presumably demonstrated in the June 1st video that Burnsy has highlighted).

The video was certainly entertaining, I'm not sure I've taken in any more information about doing CPR from it but maybe I should watch it again...
 
Great video :D

I did an emergency lifesaving course a few months back, and it was very interesting and useful. I'm also currently training with the Red Cross to be an emergency first aider, really looking forward to the courses over the next few months or so!

I remember applying CPR and hearing 'click, click, click' and half-jokingly asked the instructor if I would hear the same thing when applying it to a real person and he told me that if I did, I should stop because something had most likely gone wrong! :D

Another thing he stressed to us was along the lines of "I hope you never ever have to use this training, but if you find yourself in a situation where you have to, do it". Very wise words...

Also, a question to all the others who have learnt CPR - when you practised on the dummies, did you feel really immersed into it? Hard to describe, but you just totally block out everything else, and are totally focused on performing CPR.I found it really surreal, even though it was just a dummy!
 
I have just come off a rotation on our hospital's arrest team*, and at the last arrest I attended the orthopaedic registrar (a hulking great lump of bloke), had managed to break the patient's ribs and puncture a lung before we got there :rolleyes:

*basically a group of acute medics and nursing staff who run to "arrests" in the hospital - though 9 times out of 10 it involves running to the other end of the hospital to try and revive a patient who died overnight and the nurses only realised when they did their morning observations, panicked, and put out an arrest call lol

Jokester said:
Yeah I was told it was something like 1 in 40000, but the figures give you an idea that CPR alone won't really save their lives, all your doing is keeping them viable until someone with a defibrilator turns up...
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I think the figure is around 5-10% for out-of-hospital arrests, provided effective CPR is started asap. For in-hospital arrests, it's closer to 3% (due to co-existing illness, and increased liklihood of non-shockable rhythms).

Which is why gatting as many people comfortable with performing CPR as possible will save lives, as well as getting more AEDs into public places.

It's not true to say don't start unless you are prepared to continue CPR indefinately - most people doing CPR will become less and less effective as the tire, and the majority cannot maintain effective CPR beyond 3/4 cycles (ie 10-12mins). You should always start CPR if warranted, and continue as long as you can manage, but don't be put off starting by thinking you may not be able to last.

BTW, the old recommendations for the UK were 15:2 compressions:breaths (or 5:1 with two people doing CPR). Currently it's 30:2, though I would not be surprised if it shifts to 60-100:2 with the next set of guidelines in line with recent evidence
 
apeZ said:
Also, a question to all the others who have learnt CPR - when you practised on the dummies, did you feel really immersed into it? Hard to describe, but you just totally block out everything else, and are totally focused on performing CPR.I found it really surreal, even though it was just a dummy!
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I didn't when first taught at school, especially the whole "are you ok, can you hear me" bit, though at my current workplace we have SimMan - who basically opens his mouth, blinks, etc and interacts with you - which is a combination of hilariously bizarre and eerily spooky
 
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