If you’re watching medical dramas like ER and Grey’s Anatomy, you have probably seen it done a couple of thousand times. Doctors perform hands-only chest compressions to the patient to keep the blood flowing, clear airways and do breathing. It looks easy as the patient comes back breathing for air and the doctors look calm and in control when they do it. You may think you can do it as you have seen it done one too many times, but can you really?
CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is one of the most basic medical techniques taught to people who do not have a medical background as a first aider. CPR involves doing chest compressions in order to pump blood throughout the patient’s body. This is done in order to keep the blood circulation. Breathing air into the patient’s mouth can also be done to keep air into the lungs. Through this, oxygen in the brain and heart will keep flowing thus preventing tissue damage that will ultimately lead to brain damage as well as organ failure.
In the US alone, hundreds of people die every day due to cardiac arrest. If ever you encounter a person or a loved one suffering from cardiac arrest or drowning that needs immediate medical attention like CPR, you would just need to keep in mind these three steps. First, do not panic and keep your head cool. Call for emergency, 911, or the nearest hospital for rescue. The responders will teach you to effectively do the CPR, if you do not know how, until they arrive. Second, pump the victim’s chest hard and fast. Put your hand over the other and place them between the victim’s chest. Do it at the rate of 100 per minute. Alternatively, studies also say that singing the chorus part in the Bee Gee’s song, “Staying Alive,” has the perfect rhythm. Lastly, tilt the head of the patient, pinch his nose and blow air into his mouth to keep air in his lungs. Do it per second until his breathing returns. Do the chest compressions until the help arrives.
While some others have the ‘gross factor’ in doing the air rescue breathing for people they don’t know, studies show that this can be skipped. According to these, chest compression is sufficient enough when it comes to helping save lives. Patients who received CPR through strangers have minimal brain damage even if they did not receive rescue breathing. However, this is only applicable to teenagers and adult. For kids and infants, blowing air in the patient’s mouth is still advisable.
Learning how to perform the proper CPR is one of the best skills anybody can have. It’s useful and if done correctly, can save actual lives, maybe even your relatives’. After all, we cannot count on always having a McDoctor in every medical situation we find ourselves in.
One of the bet ways to learn CPR is to take advantage of the different CPR and AED management programs being offered by Citywide CPR.
