Happy Birthday, CPR
This life-saving procedure was introduced in the July 9, 1960 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) when Doctor Williams B. Kouwenhoven et al reported the results of using their newly discovered technique of closed chest compressions on patients that suffered sudden cardiac arrest.
About two months later at the annual meeting of the Maryland Medical Society, the team demonstrated their technique of chest compressions and Peter Safer, MD shared his data supporting the benefit of mouth-to-mouth ventilation. They combined the two procedures and CPR was born!
At the upcoming 2010 Emergency Cardiovascular Care Update - International Exposition and Conference this fall, the prestigious Hans H. Dahll award will be presented to Drs. Williams B. Kouwenhoven (posthumously, accepting on behalf of Dr. Kouwenhoven will be his grandson, Nicholas W. Kouwenhoven), James R. Jude, and Guy Knickerbocker to honor their work in CPR.
(1) Also during this conference, the world will learn of updates in the science and specifically what the new American Heart Association recommendations will be. In the last fifty years, very little has changed from the chest compression and ventilation concept of resuscitation. Some experts believe that may change this year.
Only within the last few years has the traditional method of chest compressions together with mouth-to-mouth ventilation been challenged. For fifty years CPR has remained fairly consistent as series of chest compressions, pause to deliver mouth-to-mouth, resume chest compressions. What has changed is the ratio of chest compression to ventilation within a cycle and only within the last two decades. What had been a ratio of 5:1 for so long was changed to 15:2 in 2000. When the new recommendations came out in 2005, the ratio was changed to 30:2. This year, some speculate that the recommendation may be non-stop chest compressions, dropping the ventilation all together. Although CPR is a proven life-saving procedure, sadly less than 1/3 of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims nationwide receive bystander CPR and in our region the statistics fall even lower.
(2) Sudden cardiac arrest remains the leading cause of death in the United States with over 300,000 deaths reported annually.
(3) Statistics also say that over 80% of sudden cardiac arrests occur most commonly in the home or at work and to a loved one (source: AHA). Although the ambulance and hospital can provide more advanced procedures and medications, the only procedure proven to save a life is CPR - by anyone - the sooner the better.
The Town of Holliston Fire Department offers CPR classes FREE of charge (the only cost is for the completion card) and all instructors are experienced Emergency Medical Technicians who work on the ambulance. Course length is approximately three hours and you will leave with the knowledge and confidence to save a life!
Any questions, please feel free to email me at HFDCPR@gmail.com Visit www.hollistonfire.com/cprschedule for current CPR class schedule to sign up for the next class.
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References
1. Mick S. Eisenberg, MD, PhD, Bruce M. Psaty, MD, PhD, Caridiopulmonary Resuscitation Celebration and Changes, JAMA, 2010; 304(1): 87-88.
2. Nichol G. Thomas E., Callaway CW, et al: Resuscitation OUtcomes Consortium Investigators. Regional variation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence and outcome. JAMA 2008; 300 (12) 1423-1431.
3. Rebecca E. Sell, Renee Sarno, Brenna Lawrence, Edward M. Castillo, Roger Fisher,Criss Brainard, James V. Dunford, Daniel P. Davis, Minimizing pre- and post-defibrillation pauses increases the likelihood of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), Resuscitation, 2010 (81): 822-825