Everyone needs to know CPR, whether you are a new mom, taking a position as a lifeguard, or if you are taking over the local Brownies Troup. We never know when we may need such precious life saving knowledge until, sometimes, it's too late. It's easy to say that we will not be in that kind of situation, justifying further by thinking of all the times that we haven't needed this in the past. In the meantime, the regulations and guidelines have changed and changed again. If you do nothing else today, take a look at these changes and at the very least, enroll in an online course for CPR, though many of us will require a hands-on approach.
In the beginning, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was the only technique discovered for reviving victims, and this was only known to work for drowning victims (in 1740). In 1891, a doctor performed the first recorded chest compression and in 1903, Dr. George Crile was the first to have success with the technique. He perfected it the following year. Fifty years later, James Elam found that the old air remaining in the body from pre-trauma could sustain the body. In 1956, James paired up with Peter Safar and laid the groundwork for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as we know it today. In 1960, CPR was invented and the American Heart Association came to the forefront, spreading the word to the general public. Shortly after, the EMS was created so that trained CPR professionals could walk people through the steps by phone in an emergency.
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More recently, The AHA has been focusing on perfecting the methods, taking in statistics from medical facilities and 911 operators, etc. These numbers have caused the AHA to realize that they needed to change the guidelines for CPR, decreasing the amount of casualties as a result. In the early 90's, the guideline was 5 compressions and 1 breath. In the late 90's, the compressions were raised to 15 with 1 breath. In 2005, the amount of compressions was raised once again, to 30 compressions with 2 breaths. On March 31, 2008, hands only CPR was introduced to the guidelines, targeting laypersons, as it was the untrained bystanders that was apparently causing the greater portion of the issue with casualties. This would not be such an issue, however, if more people were concerned with getting trained. Just some thoughts to leave you with:
o 75-80% of cardiac arrests (out-of-hospital) happen at home.
o Brain death begins 4-6 minutes after cardiac arrest, are you prepared?
o CPR, when performed correctly doubles the chance of survival.
o Death from cardiac arrest does not have to be final. If more of us knew CPR, more lives could be saved.
o Approximately 900 Americans die daily due to cardiac arrest that occurs outside the hospital and in the ER.
Still think you don't need to know CPR?
Hands On CPR - The New CPR Guidelines
Please learn more about Hands Only CPR It may save the life of a loved one having a heart attack