CPR saves lives
CPR performed correctly can save lives. Simple Instruction wants our Northern Beaches community to get trained in First Aid and CPR. Simple Isntruction provides the Northern Beaches community with online, cheap, accessible First Aid and CPR courses at the (DYRSL) Dee Why RSL.
Six in ten bystanders won’t give a cardiac arrest victim first aid: Up to 1,000 lives a year could be saved if more people attempted to help
Just four in ten prepared to attempt to keep someone alive using first aid
By the time ambulance staff arrive valuable minutes may have been lost
New report from the British Heart Foundation estimates a further 1,000 lives could be saved each year if members of the public attempted to resuscitate
By Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 11:49 +11:00, 6 March 2017 | UPDATED: 03:40 +11:00, 7 March 2017
People are dying needlessly from heart attacks because bystanders are unwilling to step in to carry out life-saving techniques.
Just four out of ten members of the public are prepared to attempt to keep someone alive undergoing a cardiac arrest using first aid.
This compares to more than seven out of ten people (73 per cent) in Norway, where survival rates from cardiac arrest are three times higher than in the UK.
By the time ambulance staff arrive to treat a patient, valuable minutes may have been lost which will increase the risk of death.
Just four out of ten members of the public are prepared to attempt to keep someone alive undergoing a cardiac arrest using first aid, pictured above
+5
Just four out of ten members of the public are prepared to attempt to keep someone alive undergoing a cardiac arrest using first aid, pictured above
A new report from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) estimated a further 1,000 lives could be saved each year if members of the public attempted to resuscitate heart attack victims.
The two main lifesaving methods for someone undergoing a heart attack are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and defibrillation.
CPR involves giving regular chest compressions to make the heart pump blood around the body.
Defibrillators are portable machines that give electric shocks to jolt the heart into beating in a regular rhythm.
The machines are designed to be used by untrained members of the public and are stationed in many busy places like shopping centres or supermarkets.
A British Heart Foundation (BHF) report estimates a further 1,000 lives could be saved each year if members of the public attempted to resuscitate heart attack victims, pictured above
+5
A British Heart Foundation (BHF) report estimates a further 1,000 lives could be saved each year if members of the public attempted to resuscitate heart attack victims, pictured above
The chances of someone who has had a cardiac arrest drops by around 10 per cent for every minute that they do not get either CPR or defibrillation.
After ten minutes without either technique, the chances of survival are just 2 per cent at best.
If somebody has a cardiac arrest, an ambulance should be called and CPR attempted.
The BHF advise that if there are more than one person present when someone has had a heart attack, one person should stay with the victim and carry out CPR while the other goes to look for a defibrillator machine – asking emergency services if they are not sure.
Once the defibrillator box is opened, a recorded voice gives easy instructions on where to place pads on a person’s chest.
The BHF advise looking for a defibrillator machine, pictured above, if there is more than one present
+5
The BHF advise looking for a defibrillator machine, pictured above, if there is more than one present
Users then simply press a large button to start electrical shocks to the person’ s heart.
The defibrillator will not work unless the person is having a cardiac arrest – meaning people cannot make the situation worse by using one.
Previous research has found the survival rate in England for out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is 8.6 per cent, compared to 20 per cent in Seattle and 25 per cent in Norway.
A cardiac arrest is commonly caused when a person has a problem with their heart.
The person is unconscious and there are no other signs of life such as breathing or movement.
Ambulance services in England attempt resuscitation on nearly 30,000 people suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year.
Only 7 – 8 per cent of people on whom resuscitation is attempted manage to survive to leave hospital.
But the charity wants to raise awareness among the public that survival can be increased to up to 40 per cent through the early use of CPR and defibrillators.
Around 1,000 lives a year could be saved in England if more people were willing to undertake CPR, pictured above, the report said
+5
Around 1,000 lives a year could be saved in England if more people were willing to undertake CPR, pictured above, the report said
The BHF report also calls for all pupils in secondary schools to learn CPR, pictured above
+5
The BHF report also calls for all pupils in secondary schools to learn CPR, pictured above
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
Airline passenger, 74, survives massive in-flight heart…
Off-duty police officer saved a Labrador named Larry¿s life…
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Share
Its report, Resuscitation To Recovery, says that simply waiting for the emergency services to arrive means lives are lost that could be saved.
It also calls for all pupils in secondary schools to learn CPR.
Around 1,000 lives a year could be saved in England if more people were willing to undertake CPR, the report said.
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the BHF, said: ‘Cardiac arrest survival rates in England are disappointingly low and have remained so for many years,
‘There is potential to save thousands of lives but we urgently need to change how we think about cardiac arrest care.
‘It’s clear that we need a revolution in CPR by educating more people in simple lifesaving skills and the use of external defibrillators, and for the subsequent care of a resuscitated patient to be more consistent and streamlined.’
Professor Huon Gray, national clinical director for heart disease at NHS England, said: ‘Thousands of deaths from cardiac arrests could be prevented every year, but we need to work with the public, the emergency services and hospitals in order to achieve this.
‘Currently, there is significant variation in treatment around the country so it is vital that we provide all people with the best possible chances of survival, wherever they live.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4284624/1-000-lives-year-saved-did-aid.html#ixzz4asw90oQ6
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4284624/1-000-lives-year-saved-did-aid.html
