Hands-Only CPR Easy and Effective
Bystanders who witness the sudden collapse of an adult should call 911 and then provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast (approximately 100 beats per minute) in the middle of the victim’s chest, with minimal interruptions. Studies of real emergencies that have occurred in homes, at work or in public locations, show that these two steps, called Hands-Only™ CPR, can be equally or even more effective than conventional CPR.
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Hands-Only CPR performed by a bystander has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR (CPR that includes breaths) in the first few minutes of an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. Any attempt at CPR is better than no attempt. Learn more at Hands-Only CPR ».
The Hands-Only CPR website also offers information on free app downloads for smartphones.
Image courtesy Hands-Only CPR. |
Learn more at the Hands-Only CPR website by the American Heart Association (AHA). The site includes additional information about the technique:
In 2008 Heart Rhythm Society President Richard L. Page, MD, FHRS and Society member Roger D. White, MD were two of the authors of Hands-Only (Compression-Only) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Call to Action for Bystander Response to Adults Who Experience Out-of-Hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest: A Science Advisory for the Public From the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee.
Supporting that study, research published in the September 2009 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found that the survival odds of someone whose heart has stopped beating goes up markedly when rescuers doing CPR spend more time giving chest compressions. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation moves oxygen into the lungs of someone who can't breathe on his own, while chest compressions move blood carrying that oxygen to the heart and the brain.
“Chest compressions move blood with oxygen to the heart and the brain to save the brain and prepare the heart to start up its own rhythm when a shock is delivered with a defibrillator,” said Jim Christenson, M.D., lead author of the study and clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of British Columbia. “We found that even short pauses in chest compressions were quite detrimental."
There was roughly a 10 percent increase in the chance of survival for every 10 percent increase in amount of time that rescuers spend giving chest compressions, Christenson and colleagues found. "If you feel rusty or are not confident giving mouth-to-mouth ventilation along with chest compressions then just do chest compressions," he continued. "Even by themselves, chest compressions can make a difference."
