Article Details
CPR: Taking Your Breath Away |
| Date Added: March 26, 2010 05:36:38 AM |
| Author: cprcourses |
| Category: Business & Economy: Business Training |
| CPR: Taking Your Breath Away For decades, the tried and true method of using rescue breaths in conjunction with chest compressions has been taught in almost all CPR classes for the layperson and professional medical practitioner alike. However, times are changing and so is the practice. To make CPR more effective in emergency situations, there is a push to eliminate the rescue breathing steps, just as checking for pulse was removed awhile back for non-professional rescuers. The shift is not without controversy, but backed by two new studies: one by the American Journal of Medicine (April 2006) and the other by The Lancet. The American Heart Association also changed its guidelines in 2008, based on these findings. The studies compared CPR given with and without rescue breaths, and found that without rescue breathing the victim’s chances of survival were no less than twice as big. However, CPR with rescue breathing as a major component has been around since the 1960s. Any change is sure to be met with resistance, especially if the change is a matter of life and death. But this change eliminates the somewhat complicated algorithm of combining mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions. Many folks have found the technique difficult to learn and to remember in a time of crisis. To complicate matters even more, in 2005, the American Heart Association Committee on Emergency Cardiac Care made changes to CPR guidelines, and changed the algorithm. This created even more confusion in the field. So now without any rescue breathing, the CPR method has been streamlined to just include chest compressions until help arrives. So science and studies are letting the air out of the CPR technique. But there is also a personal preference factor to consider as well, on the part of the rescuer. Many people are reluctant to provide such close contact rescue techniques to a person in need, as they worry about infectious diseases that can be transmitted during the course of giving rescue breaths. A recent poll shows that 54% of respondents would prefer not to use rescue breaths, but would opt for chest compressions only. However, it should be noted that this change in technique does not apply to drowning victims. The new hands-only CPR is intended for untrained rescuers and only when there has been a witnessed cardiac arrest. http://www.nationalcprcertification.com |
|
|
The Wide Skyscraper widget needs the publisher id set up in order to work.
