The American Heart Association (AHA) has released new guidelines to administer the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on those who have suffered a cardiac arrest. According to the new guidelines, the focus of the CPR should chest compressions instead of breathing into the patient's mouth. For every two rescue breaths, the chest compressions should be 30, as against the 15 recommended earlier.
Based on inputs from 281 international resuscitation experts, who evaluated numerous studies over a 36-month period, the
2005 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC is meant for both medical workers and bystanders witnessing a cardiac arrest and apply to adults and children alike.
The old guidelines were revised to make it easier for the layperson after reviews showed that the previous guidelines were difficult to perform for the average person. This had fatal connotations for the 300,000 Americans who suffer sudden cardiac arrest every year. Around 95 per cent succumb to the attack before getting medical help.
“The most common reason many people die is because no one nearby knew CPR, or if they did know it, they didn't actually do it. The more times a person pushes on the chest, the better off the patient is, because there is more blood flow to the brain and other vital organs,” said Michael Sayre, one of the authors of the revised guidelines. Sayre is with the Ohio State University in Columbus.
Agreeing with him was Dr Ahamed Idris of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, who was also involved in drafting the new guidelines. “These new guidelines should result in more effective blood flow and greater survival rates for people in cardiac arrest,” he said.
“Simply put: rescuers should push hard, push fast, allow full chest recoil, minimize interruptions in compressions, and defibrillate promptly when appropriate,” said a report detailing the new guidelines in the AHA's journal
Circulation.
Under the new guidelines, emergency medical workers have also been urged to keep patients who have undergone a cardiac arrest at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit for between 12 and 24 hours. This might help improve the chances of survival and cut the risk of brain damage in those who go into coma after resuscitation.
Among other recommendations are the availability of defibrillators in public places including airports, sports stadiums and even entertainment hubs, one shock from a defibrillator instead of three before CPR begins and training 911 operators to give step-by-step identification and CPR instructions.
The updated guidelines will be sent to parademics and medical workers along with instructional paraphernalia by next spring. Workers from AHA's offices throughout the United States will also begin learning the new techniques by March.
In addition, those who have already learnt CPR have been urged to take a refresher course with the new guidelines. “These guidelines are a very important first step. We believe we can actually significantly improve cardiac survival. Ultimately, that's what it boils down to,” said Dr Mark Pearlmutter of the AHA.
