Originally published December 18 2005
CPR changes will increase survival rates
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
After five years of research, the American Heart Association has released new guidelines for CPR that include more chest compressions and excludes the former stop in those compressions to check for a pulse.
The way CPR is performed on people whose hearts have stopped beating is being changed to include more chest compressions before breaths and no stopping to check for a pulse.
The American Heart Association calls the changes "dramatic" and "significant," while the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada says they will help improve odds of survival.
Details of the changes were contained in a American Heart Association release on PRNewswire website since Thursday although the release had been removed by late yesterday, Winnipeg Free Press reported.
CPR is a rescue technique designed to keep blood flowing to the heart and brain until the heart's normal beating is restored.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada says about a million Canadians are trained or retrained in giving CPR every year.
In the United States, more than 6 million people annually learn CPR.
The biggest change to CPR is the number of chest compressions given on most victims before rescue breaths are given.
After changes of 2000, people around the world were taught to give 15 chest compressions to adults before administering two rescue breaths, while children and infants were given five chest compressions and one rescue breath.
Now rescuers will give 30 chest compressions before two breaths are given and it doesn't matter if it's an adult, a child or an infant.
As well, rescuers are now being told that, once the 30 compressions and two breaths are done, instead of checking for signs of circulation, just repeat CPR until either emergency personnel show up or those doing CPR become exhausted.
A Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada spokesperson said she would not comment because international cardiac organizations had agreed not to release the new guidelines until Monday.
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