For most people, being faced with emergency situations can pose a challenge especially if the order of the day is to stay calm. This is definitely the case if the emergency situation consists of a man clutching his chest and having trouble breathing. For most people, such situations would cause them to run and start shouting. Others would simply watch while feeling hopeless but, at the same time, hoping and praying that a medical professional would come along to help the patient. There are, however, a handful who are brave enough to go down on their knees and make it possible for the patient to go through the emergency crisis unscathed. The courage of such people typically comes from their knowledge of how to perform a CPR as well as make use of an AED.
According to statistics, there are over 380,000 cardiac arrests that take place while the patient is outside of the hospital. Of these figure, about 88 per cent actually take place at home. If you would look at it carefully, you would notice that the numbers are quite high. That being the case, it is only right that you as well as the people around you should have a working knowledge of CPR as well as the use of AED. This is exactly what some of the residents of Bloomington just did.
Last August 23, heroic residents of Bloomington were recognized for their acts, most of which involved saving the lives of their neighbors using CPR, or Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation. FireChief Mike Kimmerling concedes that there has been an increase in the number of victims surviving their situation because bystanders or family members were able to perform CPR while they were waiting for the paramedics to arrive.
Some of the noteworthy “life saves” that the Bloomington residents were able to do include the one in Charter Fitness which took place in July 8. During that time, Anna Henson, the gym’s manager, was told by a guest that a patron, Chris Carter who was only 28 years old, fell down from his chair and seems to be unconscious. Without second thought, Henson brought her AED, gloves and some towel. She then checked for signs of life and then started administering CPR as well as AED. It took only Henson about 30 seconds in order to revive Carter. By the time paramedics arrived, Carter’s condition was already stable.
When conducting CPR, responders actually compress the chest of the patient to about 5 cm deep at a rate of 100 compressions in one minute. What this does is create an artificial circulation of the blood through the heart. Doing so, in turn, ensures that oxygen is still brought to vital organs in order to avoid tissue death. As opposed to what most people believe, there are instances when CPR, by itself, can cause the heart to start beating again. In most cases, the AED, or Automated External Defibrillator, is used in order to induce the proper heart rhythm. This, however, would not work on patients who have asystole as well as pulseless electrical activity. The AED is much more suited for those who are suffering from ventricular fibrillation as well as pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
If you would like to be ready for any kind of medical emergency, you should first learn how to properly do a CPR. Citywide CPR provides CPR training and certification that can help you save lives some day.
