IMAGINE this. You are having dinner with your loved ones and suddenly your mother complain of chest pains and before you knew it, she collapses and stops breathing. You become panic and start calling for help. If only you knew Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), you would have saved her life.CPR is a combination of rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) and chest compressions. If someone isn't breathing or if the blood is not circulating adequately, CPR can restore circulation of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Without oxygen, permanent brain damage or death can occur in less than eight minutes and defibrillation occurs during that time. It’s a simple procedure, and yet many do not know how to perform CPR.
There is a
critical need for at least one family member to be a trained first aider. More
lives can be saved if family members have some basic first aid and CPR
knowledge. They should learn how
to conduct first-aid and CPR and be prepared for any emergency situation while
waiting for help to come. Imagine
saving a person’s life by performing a simple medical procedure that we can
easily learn. Learning the
correct technique and
administering it as quickly as possible will give their loved ones a chance of
recovery.
CPR may
be necessary during emergencies such as heart attack , accidents,
near-drowning, suffocation, poisoning, smoke inhalation, electrocution
injuries, and suspected sudden infant death syndrome (Sids)
CPR is
recognised worldwide as a first aid procedure that can increase a person’s
chances of survival while waiting for proper medical assistance.
The
procedure involves a combination of chest compression and mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation that keeps oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital
organs until medical treatment can restore a normal heart rhythm.
Many Malaysians
have no idea on how to administer CPR. There are documented cases of lives
being saved by CPR. If CPR is started within four minutes after a person
collapses, he or she has a 40 per cent chance of survival. The brain
is the most sensitive part of the body. When
the heart stops functioning, the victim lose consciousness due to lack of
oxygen. The victim’s brain may survive without oxygen for 10 minutes,
and this is why it is important to start resuscitation as soon as possible
after breathing or the heart has stopped, whatever the cause so that the
brain may not suffer permanent damage. Administering CPR and getting the blood
to start pumping through his or her heart and brain may prevent brain damage
and save the victim's life.
The problem
of cardiac arrest, which happens when the heart stops pumping blood, can be
caused by a heart attack, drowning, electric shock and other problems. About 80
per cent of these tragedies happen at home. Medical assistance may only arrive
minutes or hours later, thus it is crucial that CPR is performed to increase
the victim’s chances of survival. Without help, the victim’s chances decrease
by 10 per cent each minute. Less than seven per cent of cardiac arrest victims
survive before reaching hospital because the vast majority of those witnessing
the cardiac arrest do not know how to perform a CPR.
International
and local research has shown that most people do not know how to perform CPR.
More shockingly, 45 per cent of physicians and 80 per cent of nurses are unwilling
to perform it for various reasons, including the fear of doing it wrongly,
distaste for the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and fear of contracting disease
from the victim.
In Malaysia,
a study done in 2005 on first aid and CPR among health personnel revealed that
even among trained healthcare workers, only 50 per cent are confident they can
perform the CPR.
Three simple
steps that can save a person's life is as simple and as easy as ABC.
Follow these
basic steps and remember to call for emergency medical assistance before doing
the CPR and it could
save the life of the person who has collapsed
A is for Airway. Tilt the head
to open the airway and lift the chin as this moves the tongue from the back of
the throat. The tongue is the most common airway obstruction in an unconscious
person. If he can breathe on his own, then it's important to clear the airway.
Look, listen and feel for a faint indication that your victim is breathing.
B is for Breathing. Give the
victim two breaths. Pinch the victim's nose, put your lips over the other
person's lips and blow until you see the chest rise. Make sure you blow just
enough to see the chest rise.
C is for Compression. Find the
carotid artery to the side of the Adam's apple area and feel for five or 10
seconds. If there is no pulse, begin chest compressions.
Feel around
in the chest area. If there is no thumping under your fingers within three
seconds, span, begin chest compressions. Locate the base of the sternum - the
spot where all the ribs come together in the centre of the chest. Place the
heel of your hand in the middle of the victim's chest. Put the other hand on
top of the first with fingers interlaced, lock elbows and compress the victim's
chest, using your body weight, to the necessary depth of 4-5cm (2 in.) deep.
Compress the chest at a rate equal to 100/minute. Perform 15 compressions at
this rate.
Count aloud
as you compress 15 times. Give the victim two breaths. That's cycle No. 1.
Repeat for a total of five cycles - about one minute in elapsed time.
Check again
in the neck for a pulse and watch for signs that the person is breathing. Keep
going until help arrives.
However the
new guidelines of the American Heart Association 2010 emphasised
compression first. Instead of ABC it is now CAB except for babies. If you are
not trained in CPR, continue to do chest compressions until help arrives or the
victim wakes up. It's normal to feel pops and snaps when you first begin chest
compressions - DON'T STOP! You're not going to make the victim worse.
If you want
to know more about what to do in case of an emergency, The Heart Foundation of
Malaysia CPR course can HELP
YOU . With the rightful knowledge and skills you learn in this
course, you can save a life of a loved one, a friend, a co-worker, or a citizen
in your community.
You may also
visit the National Heart Association of
Malaysia (NHAM), a drive to teach the easy to learn life-saving skill to
the general public through its Public CPR Education Programme, themed with
"Give the Gift of Life, Today". The programme that was developed in
response to international and local research that has shown that most people do
not know how to perform CPR.
