Mon Mar 31 20:47:00 UTC 2008
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Bystanders who see someone suddenly collapse should quickly
give the person chest compressions even if they are not trained in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the American Heart Association said on
Monday. The association urged people not to stand idly by
because they do not think they know how to administer CPR while an
adult stricken with sudden cardiac arrest is dying in front of them. In
recommendations published in its journal Circulation, the group
emphasized "hands-only" CPR -- a simple procedure that bystanders can
perform without worrying about doing the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
part of CPR. "The thing that's killing people is inaction," said
Dr. Michael Sayre of Ohio State University, who headed the
association's team that drafted the new recommendations. Sayre
said people not trained in CPR should do two things when they encounter
an adult who has suddenly collapsed: first, call emergency services;
and second, begin pushing "hard and fast" in the center of the person's
chest. This is necessary to maintain vital blood flow, according
to experts. Chest compressions should continue until emergency medical
services responders arrive, Sayre said. "Today in the United
States, less than a third of victims of sudden cardiac arrest get any
form of CPR. Anything that would increase that is bound to save lives,"
Sayre said in a telephone interview. "We want the general public to know that even if they've never been trained, they can help victims of sudden cardiac arrest." In
the minutes after an adult collapses, hands-only CPR -- without
mouth-to-mouth rescue efforts -- is equivalent to conventional CPR in
its life-saving value, Sayre said. All too often, no one at the
scene does anything to help the victim of sudden cardiac arrest --
often because there is no one trained in CPR and other people are
scared that they will do something to make the victim's condition worse. But considering the person's condition, Sayre said, "You can't make them any worse." The
heart association said that about 310,000 adults in the United States
die annually from sudden cardiac arrest that takes place away from a
hospital setting. It said that CPR administered by a bystander can
double or triple a person's chance of surviving. About 94
percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching a
hospital, the group said. Up to 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests
occur at home, it added. Brain death begins four to six minutes after a
person suffers sudden cardiac arrest if no CPR or defibrillation is
given. "Hands-only" CPR is not advised for babies and children
or for adults whose cardiac arrest is due to respiratory causes such as
a drowning scenario or drug overdose, the group said. The new
recommendations update the group's 2005 advice that had asked
bystanders to do chest compressions only if they were unable or
unwilling to provide mouth-to-mouth efforts. Conventional CPR is still an crucial skill to know and medical personnel should still perform it, the group said. (Editing by Maggie Fox) | 
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