Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is an essential lifesaving skill that you can learn from taking first aid training course. When done appropriately, it can help improve the outcome of the victim.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an important first aid skill that can be learned in a first aid course. It can be used in a variety of emergency situations where the heart suddenly stops beating. By providing prompt and efficient CPR, vital organs are supplied with oxygenated blood thereby increasing the victim’s chances of survival. However, a study suggests that prolonging the time administering CPR to cardiac arrest patient does not increase the chances of survival.
The study conducted at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) puts at rest the debate about the effectiveness of prolonged CPR. According to one of its authors, increasing the amount of time for initial CPR has no significant advantage over shorter CPR.
First aiders are often taught to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the resumption of normal heartbeat; the first aider becomes fatigued; or there is advanced equipment available such as defibrillators. This is based on earlier studies that show that the longer period of initial CPR (up to three minutes), the higher the odds of survival is of a cardiac arrest patient.
The recent study, which was also participated by the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) and the University of Ottawa, settles the intriguing question about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The authors say that it is better to stay on the safe side and stick with traditional brief CPR. Increasing the amount of time administering CPR from 1 to 3 minutes has no additional positive effects. The study analyzed medical data gathered from some 10,000 patients who have CPR.
The study showed that efficient cardiopulmonary resuscitation can increase blood flow to vital organs, especially the brain, and keep the body ‘alive’ only for a very brief period of time. However, for some patients who have certain cardiac rhythms, the heart beat can only be restarted through electrical shocks with a defibrillator.
Moreover, the researchers also studied fire fighters and paramedics across the US and Canada. The participants were randomly divided into groups and were given instructions to administer 30 to 60 seconds of initial CPR or 3 minutes of CPR. Midway through the study, the amount of time for each groups were switched.
The gathered data showed that survival rate tend to decrease as the initial CPR is prolonged and the victim has a heart rhythm ‘shockable’ with defibrillator.
It is estimated that more than 350,000 people suffer from sudden cardiac arrest in the US and Canada. And of this number, only less than 10% survive. Administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation can do so much in increasing this survival rate.