Many people expect that they after the compress the chest and breathe into the patient they will wake up. Although everyone hopes for this situation the reality is important to understand. I often teach that the R in CPR actually means maintain. This is because the rescuer is maintain the necessary oxygen flow to keep brain cells alive. With no CPR the brain cells will die within ten minutes and there will be little chance of revival.
That being said there is a tool available to the general public that can be used suucessfully to restart in 80% of cardiac arrests (when the heart stops beating). The Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that will automatically analyze a persons heart rhythm and if necessary send an electric shock across the persons heart. An AED prompts the used to place the pads on the patient, and when to press the "shock" button. Once turned on the rescuer simply places the pads on the patient as indicated on the diagram and while ensuring noone is touching the patient presses the shock button.
This does not mean the CPR is not necessary once the AED arrives. Since the AED will not circulate any oxygen, after each shock the AED will prompt the rescuer to perform two minutes of CPR (it counts this down). After the two minutes the AED will tell the rescuer to stop CPR and will analyze the heart and shock if nescessary if required.
Learning CPR and the use of an AED is easier than ever. All First Aid Ottawa's courses include CPR and AED certification. Visit us at www.FirstAidOttawa.com or call us at 613-225-2727.
