In drama movies and TV series, one of the most common tragic events that take place in the plot is the “heart attack” scene where the sufferer either dies or becomes hospitalized. Also, such drama scenes involve another character – usually the sufferer’s friend or family member – who tries to apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save the patient. The sad fact is that there are now too many people who have developed misconceptions on CPR; how it is applied and how well it could save a person’s life.
Don’t be conceived by what health experts call the “CPR Myths”. Remember that movies or TV dramas are not as realistic as real life. You have to learn what these myths are and what right facts to believe or correct practices to be applied instead. How CPR becomes a life-saver in fictional stories could not be exactly the way it does in reality. So, here are some of the CPR myths that you should avoid or stop practicing:
- CPR Alone “Restarts” the Heart’s Functionality – this is technically inaccurate because the primary purpose of CPR is rather to restore the partial stream of oxygenated blood to the heart and brain to delay death of tissues in these organs as this practice takes place. The use of the device called automated external defibrillator (AED) along with other secondary first aid practices could completely “restart” the heart’s functionality after doing CPR.
- CPR is More Successful by Putting a Pillow under the Patient’s Head – this is just a misconception on the practice of health experts. Putting a pillow under the head of the patient during such condition is helpful in a sense that it could prevent banging the patient’s head on the surface as CPR or the use of AED takes place.
- CPR Means Exerting Your Fullest Force When Doing Chest Compressions – this is another inaccurate concept that is often featured on dramas. It is advised for a person who doesn’t know anything about CPR to try to apply it while there’s no any medical expert arriving yet. However, it must be noted that proper CPR basically involves at least 5 cm-deep chest compressions with a rate of not lower than 100 times per minute. Its purpose is to create artificial circulation by forcing blood to flow in and out of the heart.
- CPR is Incomplete without Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation – it is correct to provide external breathe to an unconscious patient due to cardiac arrest or any other crucial heart condition. However, medical experts advise this practice to be done only if you know the person and you are comfortable enough for this kind of physical contact, and if chest compression alone won’t work. Additionally, you can use a barrier between your and patient’s mouth if it really calls for a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
There are many other myths as well as important lessons about proper CPR that Citywide CPR offers in its CPR Training. Enroll now and as soon as you complete the Citywide CPR CPR Training, you could assure yourself to be a certified lifesaver of people suffering from any crucial heart condition.
