CPR Training Is For You
We’ve put together this helpful infographic list (but not limited to) of those who can benefit from CPR training:
![Who Should Get BLS, AED Or CPR Training [Infographic]](https://www.oceansidecpr.com/wp-content/uploads/OCEANSIDE-Who-Should-Get-BLS-AED-Or-CPR-Training-You.-Infographic-1.png "Who Should Get BLS, AED Or CPR Training [Infographic]")
Share This Infographic On Your Site
Health and Medical Professionals
• Doctors
• Emergency Medical Technicians
• Nurses
• Dentists & Dental Assistants
• Midwives
• Physical Therapists
• Chiropractors
• Acupuncturists
• Pharmacists
• Massage Therapists
Educators
• Teachers
• Childcare Providers
• Camp Counselors
• Parents
• Babysitters and Nannies
Sports and Fitness
• Lifeguards
• Swim Instructors
• Personal Trainers
• Group Fitness Instructors
• Sports Coaches and Volunteers
Public Safety
• Law Enforcement Agencies
• Fire Safety Personnel
• EMT
• Coast Guard
Community
• Hotel, Spa and Hospitality Organizations
• Restaurant Managers
• Students in public schools grades 9 through 12. According to New Jersey Assembly Bill A 2072, they are actually required to receive instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of an automated external defibrillator prior to graduation.
• YOU!
CPR Training Classes (and more!) At Oceanside CPR
Consider taking a CPR training class, BLS or AED training at Oceanside CPR. Our programs are excellent choices for both the community and workplace and teaches skills with research-proven Practice-While-Watching (PWW) technique, which allows instructors to observe the students, provide feedback and guide the students’ learning of skills.
As CPR instructors with over 25 years of experience, we are able to provide a relaxed and comfortable teaching environment, no matter what class you are looking for. Our goal is to prepare people with the confidence so they can perform CPR in any life-threatening emergency – Without Hesitation! Whether you are interested in attending a class, scheduling an on-site training or just have a general question, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (732) 616-2407.
]]>If you have taken a corporate onsite CPR training course, chances are that you have learned how to use an automated external defibrillator, or AED. However, before you use an AED on someone that you suspect is experiencing a cardiac arrest episode, you should take a moment to check on the individual.
If you witness an individual collapsing or passing out, or if you come upon an individual who is already unconscious, you should confirm that the individual is unresponsive. You should shout and shake them to make sure they’re not just sleeping. Keep in mind though, that you should never shake an infant or very young child. Instead, you should pinch children in an attempt to wake them up.
What to Do
Before getting out the automated external defibrillator, you should call for emergency personnel. If there is someone else with you, have them call for emergency personnel and get the AED while you are performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which you can learn through a corporate onsite CPR training class.
After calling for emergency personnel and ensuring that they are on the way, you should check the person for a pulse and for breathing. If you notice that either of these are irregular or even absent, you should make preparations to use the AED as soon as possible. Cardiac arrest episodes can result in death if not treated within a few minutes.
If you did not witness the collapse and there is no one who knows the length of time that an individual has been unconscious, or if you don’t have an automated electronic defibrillator, you should do two minutes of CPR. You will be instructed in the proper CPR techniques in a corporate onsite CPR training course.
The American Heart Association encourages you to use “hands-only” CPR instead of traditional CPR. The point is to encourage the oxygenated blood to flow through the individual’s vital organs. Teens and adults have enough oxygen in their bodies to keep their vital organs alive until help arrives. You should do compressions at a rate of 100 per minute.
After you use an AED, or if you do not have access to an AED, you should keep giving CPR until medical help arrives or the person has been revived. You should try to limit your pauses between cycles of CPR.
If you do have access to an AED, after two minutes, you should use the AED to check the individual’s heart rhythm and then, if necessary, give another shock. If another shock is not necessary, simply continue offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
How to Use an AED
If you take a corporate onsite CPR training class, you will learn how to properly use an AED. If you have not taken one and don’t have plans in the near future to do so, the following instructions can help you.
Automated External Defibrillators are user-friendly machines that even the untrained bystander can use in order to save the life of an individual who is suffering from a cardiac arrest episode.
Due to the fact that an AED uses electric shock, you will need to make sure that the victim is not near any water or puddles. If they are, try to move them to a dry area – avoid any type of wetness when delivering shocks to a victim.
Turn on the power to the AED. You will see that the device will give you both on-screen prompts and voice prompts on how to use it.
First, expose the victim’s chest. If their chest is wet, dry it. You will see that the AED has sticky pads that have sensors known as electrodes. Look at the pictures on the AED and apply the pads to the victim’s chest as instructed. Make sure that the pads have a strong connection with the skin.
Make sure to remove any metal necklaces or underwire bras – metal could conduct electricity and cause burns. Also, check for any medical devices or body piercings. If either of these are present, keep the pads at least one inch away from them.
Make sure electrodes are connected properly to the AED and no one is touching the victim. Then, press the “analyze” button and the machine will check the victim’s heart rate. If shock is necessary, the AED will let you know when to do so.
As you are instructed in corporate onsite CPR training courses, you will begin or continue CPR until medical personnel arrive or the victim has been revived.
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aed/howtouse
]]>In most cases, taking part in a corporate onsite CPR training class will also include first aid. These types of classes are wonderful because they can teach an individual what to do in case of an emergency. CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is wonderful because you can use it to prevent the victim from suffering brain damage or dying.
What is Basic First Aid?
The term “basic first aid” means the process of first assessing the needs and situation and then addressing those needs of an individual who has been hurt or is in some sort of physiological distress. First aid courses, including corporate onsite CPR training, will help you to easily and quickly determine the physical condition of the individual and then to figure out the best course of treatment. Of course, the help of a medical professional should be sought as soon as possible, but there are some things that you can do to make the difference between life and death for the victim.
What are the Steps for Basic First Aid?
There are four steps that you will need to follow in order to perform first aid. These things would be addressed further in a corporate onsite CPR training course, but this is a great introduction. First, you will need to assess the situation and the victim – this includes calling for help. Then, you will begin caring for the victim. Finally, you should be aware of the various scenarios that could take place – there are some fairly common things that could have happened to the victim; then there are some rarer ones.
Getting Started with Basic First Aid
If you witness a victim in distress, you will need to start with the three C’s of first aid. While it’s true that your priority is helping this victim, you also have a right to make sure that you are protected and safe. This means that before rushing into an emergency situation to help someone, you should take a moment to evaluate the situation and surroundings. Pay attention to whether there are things that could possibly cause you harm. After all, you don’t want to rush into a situation where you will end up just like the person you’re trying to help.
If there are things that could endanger your life, you immediately get professional help. Medical professionals, such as paramedics, have much higher levels of training. Basic first aid, such as that learned in a corporate onsite CPR training course, will become completely useless if you end up hurting yourself.
After assessing the situation, you’re going to need to call for help. If you feel like the individual is seriously injured, you should call for help immediately. On the other hand, if you’re the only one on the scene, and the victim is not breathing, attempt to establish breathing again before calling for help. You should make sure that you never leave the victim alone for an extended period of time.
Finally, now that professional medical help is on the way, you can begin using your first aid training that you learned in your corporate onsite CPR training course to treat the victim. Keep in mind that taking care of a victim that has just experienced a serious trauma will include both emotional support and physical treatment.
One of the most important things to do is to keep yourself calm and try to reassure the victim. Let them know that you do have help on the way and everything is going to be okay. Remember, taking a corporate onsite CPR training class will be the best way to learn both CPR and first aid.
Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Basic-First-Aid
]]>There are many different situations when CPR can potentially save a person’s life or minimize brain damage and other health problems. Though use of CPR is not always enough to guarantee a person’s survival, when used correctly, it can dramatically increase their chances. CPR training in NJ can help you learn how to identify these life-threatening situations and how to immediately respond. With CPR training in NJ, you’ll have to tools to potentially save the life of a friend, coworker, family member, or stranger.
Situations to Use CPR
When you see someone unconscious or collapsed on the ground, they may need CPR and other forms of assistance. CPR, also known as cardio pulmonary resuscitation, can help restore breathing and beating of the person’s heart and save their life. Individuals who complete AED and CPR training in NJ are better prepared to identify people who might need this type of help.
Some situations that may require CPR include drowning, suffocation, heart attack, allergic reaction, choking, and electric shock. One of the most common situations when CPR is needed is during sudden cardiac arrest. This occurs when a person’s heart suddenly stops beating. This is why it’s so important to check breathing and heartbeat when you encounter someone who looks unconscious.
Cardiac arrest typically happens after a person experiences an especially long or severe type of heart arrhythmia, which is when the heart beats in an irregular rhythm or too slowly or quickly. Anyone could have minor cases of arrhythmia, but some people experience arrhythmia more often or have more serious cases of arrhythmia, and this makes sudden cardiac arrest more likely. Some common causes of arrhythmia include:
Coronary Heart Disease
If you have coronary heart disease, your arteries slowly clog with cholesterol and other deposits. This reduces the amount of blood that can flow to your heart and affects the ability of your heart to beat at a proper rhythm.
Heart Attack
During a heart attack, a person may experience ventricular fibrillation, which is when the lower chambers of the heart wither but do not contract effectively. This is one of the most common causes of heart attacks and one of the most common reasons why people need CPR or AED. CPR training in NJ can teach you how to recognize when this is happening and help you provide treatment quickly and correctly.
Congenital Heart Disease
Some people are born with abnormalities in their heart, and this can make the risk of heart attack and arrhythmia higher. This can even affect adolescents and children and cause them to experience sudden cardiac arrest. When providing CPR to younger victims, it’s very important that the person understand what they are doing. Courses that provide CPR training in NJ teach participants how to provide CPR to different ages, so that you are always prepared during an emergency.
Problems With the Electrical System
Every person’s heart is controlled by electrical signals. These electrical signals tell the heart when to contract, how fast to contract, and how much to contract. When the electrical system is working correctly, the heart beats a normal rhythm, but sometimes the electrical systems stops working the way it’s supposed to. These types of problems are known as primary heart abnormalities. Though rare, there are some conditions that can cause these types of abnormalities such as long QT syndrome and Brugada’s syndrome.
These are only a few of the possible causes of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac arrest. There are many different reasons why a person may suddenly require medical attention, and that’s why CPR training in NJ is so important. Contact us to learn more about our programs and services.
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sudden-cardiac-arrest/basics/causes/con-20042982
]]>After a person completes corporate onsite CPR training, they’ll be prepared to respond in a number of different emergency situations. If someone collapses, they will be able to apply their training and respond appropriately. They’ll even be trained to use the AED, the automated external defibrillator, to provide electrical stimulation to the heart and help the heartbeat at a normal rhythm. Some of the reasons why someone may need CPR include choking, suffocating, electric shock, severe allergic reaction, and drowning.
Though there are a variety of reasons why a person may require CPR, two of the most common reasons are heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest. These two conditions are related, but they are not the same. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a medical background, it is likely that you don’t know the difference between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest.
Understanding the difference is important because it can help you respond more effectively during an emergency. It can also help you communicate more accurately over the phone and with medical professionals who arrive on the scene, and this can save precious seconds when they work to revive the victim. Corporate onsite CPR training can be a great way to teach coworkers more about heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest and give them the tools to respond correctly in these life-or-death situations.
What Is a Heart Attack?
There is a lot of confusion among the general population about what is and isn’t a heart attack. A heart attack is caused when the blood flowing to a section of the heart is reduced or stopped completely due to blockage in an artery. Though heart attacks can be acute and happen suddenly, they are often more gradual. The artery becomes significantly clogged, and the reduced blood flow causes a part of the heart to get weaker and weaker until the symptoms become very severe.
During many heart attacks, the heart continues to beat, but not enough blood is reaching the heart. However, sometimes the person goes into sudden cardiac arrest. Individuals with corporate onsite CPR training may be able to provide CPR and use an AED to help the heart start beating normally.
What Is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
Sudden cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart suddenly stops beating. There are many different reasons for sudden cardiac arrest, but it typically is related to the electrical signals that control the rhythm of the heart. If a person’s heart begins to beat too quickly, too slowly, or at an irregular rhythm, this can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Corporate onsite CPR training can help teach employees how to check for a person’s heartbeat and identify if sudden cardiac arrest has occurred.
Though heart attacks and decreased blood flow can affect the ability of the heart to beat at a healthy rhythm, these two conditions are not always related. Sometimes a heart attack is not followed by sudden cardiac arrest, and sometimes sudden cardiac arrest occurs even though the person never had a heart attack.
Whether it’s a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest, it’s important that the person get medical attention immediately. Coworkers should call 911 as soon as possible. If the person stops breathing or if their heart stops beating, it is very important that someone begins CPR and finds a nearby AED. Corporate onsite CPR training can be crucial in these situations. AEDs are especially important during sudden cardiac arrest, as they can restart the heart and prevent further damage or death. If you’d like to learn more about how we can provide corporate onsite CPR training to your company, contact us today.
Sources:
]]>Every year, there are more and more AEDs in public areas, shopping malls, and office buildings throughout New Jersey. In addition, corporate onsite CPR training is becoming more widespread as businesses are doing everything they can to increase safety in the workplace. These devices are helping save people’s lives when they have sudden heart problems that result in cardiac arrest. Though these machines are easy to use, it is still very important that more people receive AED training and CPR training in NJ. The proper training will increase the chance that someone will be able to use the device properly, and research has shown that these devices can help double or triple a person’s chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest.
Every minute counts in these types of emergencies. Someone with AED and CPR training in NJ has the knowledge and skills to immediately respond to an emergency, increasing the chance that the person survives. If you have never seen or used an AED before, it can be intimidating, especially when someone else’s life is on the line. Completing AED and CPR training in NJ will help give you the training and confidence to respond correctly in any emergency without hesitation.
What Is an Automated External Defibrillator?
An AED, also known as an automated external defibrillator, is a small device that can help save the life of someone who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest. The device has electrodes that you attach to the person’s chest, and these electrodes can detect the person’s heartbeat and determine if they need an electric shock to restore the normal rhythm of their heart. The device can then deliver that electric shock to the person’s heart and help them before it’s too late. In combination with CPR training in NJ, the use of an AED can dramatically increase a person’s chance of survival.
AEDs are lightweight, portable, and powered by batteries, making it very easy to carry them to any victim and begin using them. They are normally located in malls, offices, and in public places, so that they can be used in an emergency. Because AEDs are automated, they are very easy to use. With the training in a corporate onsite CPR training session, anyone can learn how to use one effectively. The computer in an AED is able to analyze the person’s heartbeat and will prevent you from using an AED on a person who doesn’t need it. The computer will also help assist you in using the product and will tell you when to provide the electric shock. CPR training in NJ can provide more familiarity with the device, which ensures that it used 100% correctly.
When Do You Use an AED?
If a person’s heart has suddenly stopped beating, their body goes into sudden cardiac arrest, and this is when an AED can be used to potentially save that person’s life. Classes for CPR training in NJ can show you how to recognize when someone is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest and how to quickly respond.
If someone suddenly loses consciousness and collapses, you should immediately try to wake them up and get them to respond. If they do not respond, you need to check their breathing and pulse and call 9-1-1. At this point, you will need to immediately provide CPR and use the AED before the medical professionals arrive. This type of response, if performed correctly, can dramatically increase someone’s chances of surviving. With corporate onsite CPR training, you can learn exactly what to do and how to do it during a future emergency. Contact us for more information about CPR training in NJ.
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aed/howtouse
]]>Though CPR, which stands for cardio pulmonary resuscitation, has been around for a long time, many people don’t know exactly how it works, the science behind it, or how effective it is. This is too bad, because if the public better understood how important CPR is, more people would enroll in CPR training in NJ. Fortunately, more and more public schools are providing CPR training in NJ, and this is making all communities in the state safer. The number of corporations offering this training to employees is also increasing around New Jersey.
Though some people are turned off by the idea of having to perform CPR on total strangers, the truth is that most medical emergencies occur at home and at work. In addition to potentially saving the lives of strangers, CPR training in NJ can also help you save the lives of your family, friends, and others you care about. CPR training is most likely to save the life of someone you know and care about, and that’s why so many people are interested in learning how to safely perform it. Additionally, there are hands-only CPR techniques that can be learned that avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for those who are squeamish about that type of technique.
CPR Saves Lives
Research conducted on CPR continues to show that CPR can potentially save a person’s life — about 92,000 lives every year. CPR can be an effective way to restore breathing and normal heart function, and it can increase a person’s chance of survival after
- sudden cardiac arrest
- heart attack
- choking
- suffocating
- almost drowning
- suffering an allergic reaction
- getting shocked with electricity
- overdosing on drugs
This isn’t to say that CPR will always save a person’s life. When a person requires CPR, their body is already under an extreme amount of stress, and the problems that caused their heart to stop may be too serious to repair with CPR. About 92% of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest do not survive before they arrive at the hospital; however, performing CPR immediately can double or triple that person’s chances to survive.
When a person stops breathing, every second counts. That’s why it’s so important that one of the first people who reach the victim can perform CPR without any hesitation. CPR training in NJ doesn’t just teach people how to perform CPR, which is relatively simple; it also provides each participant with the confidence they need to act decisively in an emergency situation.
Who Can Use CPR Training?
Everyone can benefit from learning how to perform CPR. It is not just something for lifeguards and medical professionals. Many businesses offer corporate onsite CPR training to their employees because it’s a great team-building exercise and increases the safety of every employee in the office. Most offices now have AED devices, which use electricity to restart the heart. During CPR training, employees can also learn how to use these devices which can save someone who’s in sudden cardiac arrest.
CPR training in NJ is also popular among private citizens who want to be able to perform CPR for their family members and friends. When there is an emergency, it is very important that someone nearby can perform CPR immediately before the medical professionals arrive.
If you have family members with heart problems, children with congenital defects, or just want to be prepared for an emergency, CPR training is right for you. We provide different types of training and certification to give you the tools you need to save someone’s life. Contact us for more information about our next session of CPR training in NJ.
Sources:
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jul/13/how-perform-adult-cpr/
]]>You’ve probably seen defibrillators used on dozens of medical TV shows and in movies. A doctor or medical professional will yell, “Clear!” and a powerful jolt of electricity brings the person magically back to life. Have you ever actually wondered how the defibrillator works and why a jolt of electricity can restore someone’s heartbeat? Though television can sometimes make it seem as simple as jump – starting a car, a defibrillator is a very advanced piece of technology and training can make operating it much easier.
Fortunately, many corporate onsite CPR training courses provide first aid and AED training in addition to CPR training. Learning more about AED technology can help you better understand when you can use it to save someone’s life, and in combination with corporate onsite CPR training, you’ll have the preparation you need to respond during an emergency.
The Electrical System of the Heart
Though it may sound strange, every person’s heart is controlled by electrical signals within their body. Most organs are controlled by electrical signals that are sent through the nervous system from the brain, but the heart actually has its own source of electrical signals. These electrical signals spread from the top of the heart to the bottom and make the muscles in the heart contract. The rhythm of this contraction, also known as the heartbeat, pumps blood throughout the body at a steady rate.
Without constant pumping of blood, a person’s organs and brain won’t receive the oxygen they need and will start to fail. When a person’s heart stops beating, it is called sudden cardiac arrest, and this is when an AED, or automated external defibrillator, can save a person’s life. With corporate onsite CPR training, you will be able to identify these situations and respond immediately to increase the person’s chance of survival. According to some studies, using an AED and performing CPR can double a person’s chance to survive.
Irregular Heart Rhythms
Why does sudden cardiac arrest occur? Though most people’s hearts have electrical systems that work correctly, some people’s hearts do not receive the right type of electrical signals. This affects the rhythm and rate of their contractions and makes sudden cardiac arrest more likely.
Heart rhythms that are not normal are called arrhythmias. Ventricular fibrillation is a common type of arrhythmia that causes the bottom of the heart to beat irregularly. Ventricular tachycardia is another type of arrhythmia affecting the chambers in the bottom of the heart, and both of these arrhythmias can cause sudden cardiac arrest. Arrhythmias can occur in all types of people, and many are not even aware that something is wrong with their heart. Completing corporate onsite CPR training can prepare you for when these emergencies occur unexpectedly.
Using an AED
When someone is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, an AED might be able to save their life. The electrical signal sent by the device can get the heart beating at the right rhythm again. With its built-in computer, an AED can measure a person’s heartbeat, or lack thereof, and determine if an electric shock is needed. The device’s computer will also be able to determine what type of electric shock is necessary and give instructions so that it’s used correctly.
During this type of emergency, corporate onsite CPR training can ensure that someone knows how to respond and can respond immediately. Every second counts, so it’s important to have people who are trained and prepared. Using an AED correctly can increase a person’s chance of survival to 75%. If you are interested in learning more about AEDs and corporate onsite CPR training, contact us today.
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aed
http://heartsine.com/2012/12/how-does-an-automated-external-defibrillator-work/
]]>Do you provide corporate onsite CPR training for your employees and coworkers? If not, you should think about looking into CPR training programs and seeing if it’s something that your employees would be interested in. CPR training is important and useful for everyone, no matter their age or profession. The skills were once limited to lifeguards and medical professionals, but now more and more people are learning how to perform CPR because of the great benefits that the training can provide. Here are some of the biggest benefits of corporate onsite CPR training. If you’re interested in providing training to your employees, contact us today.
- Giving Your Employees Confidence
The idea of being thrust in a situation where you have to save someone’s life is very intimidating for most people. Without an understanding of CPR and training, many people feel helpless in these situations, and even if these situations never occur, the fact that they don’t know how to act can make them less confident. After completing CPR training, your employees will feel more confident because they know that they could potentially save someone’s life during an emergency.
- Team-Building and Leadership
Whenever your team has to work together, learn something new, and take on a new task, it’s a great opportunity for team-building in the office. Office safety is a fantastic project that can bring together employees from different departments and parts of an office, allowing them to collaborate and work together. Corporate onsite CPR training and first aid training can be part of these types of projects, or can be a great way to kick off an office safety program.
- AED and First Aid Training
CPR programs do not focus solely on how to provide CPR. These programs can also teach your employees how to provide first aid and how to use an automated external defibrillator. This type of training will give your employees the skills to respond in any type of emergency situation in the workplace.
- Saving Lives at Work
Ultimately, you provide corporate onsite CPR training so that your employees can use it if there is ever an emergency. Immediate CPR and defibrillation can be the difference between someone living or dying, so it’s extremely important that someone nearby is trained and ready to help. Only about 10% of people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest are able to survive by the time they reach the hospital. Providing CPR and defibrillation correctly and right away can double or even triple a person’s chance of surviving.
- CPR for Families and Children
Not only will CPR training make the office safer, it will also make your employees’ homes much safer in the event of an emergency. Almost 90% of sudden cardiac arrests occur in the home, and with the proper training, your employees will be able to perform CPR on loved ones and family members. This type of training is especially important if family members have heart problems or if there are young children in the household. If a child has an issue, someone trained in CPR will know how to adjust the technique to make it more effective on a child.
These are just a few of the many benefits of corporate onsite CPR training. Your employees will be very grateful to you for providing corporate onsite CPR training, and the program will be very beneficial for your organization as well. Corporate onsite CPR training programs can be customized to include AED and first aid training, and they can be scheduled to be more convenient for a busy office with lots of deadlines. Contact us for more information.
Sources:
http://www.cprcpr.com/5-benefits-of-learning-cpr-in-san-jose/
]]>Many people likely have a Hollywood-inspired concept of how to respond, with visions of performing mouth-to-mouth CPR, the victim waking up and coughing after a few pumps on their chest.
That happens only in the movies, said Colette Larson, Take Heart program coordinator at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center. There is, however, a machine that in conjunction with hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has the potential to revive someone on the spot, and it’s Larson’s mission to teach as many people to use it as possible.
Survival rates more than double
The machine is called an automated external defibrillator (AED). It is a portable device found in many public places that can administer electric shocks to the heart of someone experiencing cardiac arrest.
The American Heart Association reports immediate CPR and early defibrillation using an AED can more than double survival rates for victims of cardiac arrest. Without familiarity with the device, however, many bystanders hesitate, uncomfortable with the idea of using a machine that delivers shocks.
That perception is one Larson aims to change through the distribution of AEDs and trainings on how to use them in case of emergency.
“It’s easy and it’s not scary, even though people think it’s scary,” she said.
Larson said the Take Heart program has helped to install AEDs at 82 locations and train more than 12,000 people in the Brainerd lakes area.
It might be even more crucial for distribution of these machines and trainings to take place in rural areas. According to a Sept. 5 story by Minnesota Public Radio, rural survival rates of cardiac arrest tend to be lower compared to the metro, due in part to longer ambulance travel times.
One of the latest AED trainings took place Tuesday night at the St. Mathias Park Recreation Center after the park board received a grant to install one at the building.
Jim Guida, vice president of the St. Mathias Park Board, is also a conservation officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He said after several conservation officers in this district received AEDs to carry in their squad cars, he thought about how important they could be in the community.
“It is now going to stay in the park, and we’re going to have one available for large group gatherings,” Guida said. “We want to make sure that if there is something like that up at the park that our park is prepared for that.”
Members of the park board and residents attended Larson’s session where they learned about the correct responses to increase the chances of survival in an emergency situation.
CPR is critical
Before jumping into a how-to on an AED, Larson first went over how to perform CPR.
“You have to know how to do CPR if you’re going to want to use that (AED),” she said. “If the AED is not needed, the only other thing you can do is chest compressions.”
Mouth-to-mouth CPR is no longer the recommended course of action on adults; hands-only CPR that does not require administering breaths is not only as efficient, Larson said, but also increases the chances of bystander involvement.
“Most people won’t even step in in an emergency if they think they have to do mouth-to-mouth,” she said.
In an emergency where someone has collapsed, Larson said to follow what she called the “Three Cs”: Check the person for responsiveness and also check their breathing by placing a hand on their chest and one on their stomach; call 911 and send someone to grab the AED if available; and start chest compressions.
To perform chest compressions, place hands with locked elbows on the center of the victim’s chest and push, hard and fast. CPR is most effective when a depth of two inches into the chest is achieved at a pace of 100 beats per minute. Larson suggested the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees is a good guideline to follow to maintain this pace.
Beginning CPR as soon as possible is crucial, she said, to improving chances of survival. When a victim’s heart is no longer pumping on its own, properly performed chest compressions keep blood flowing throughout the body.
“The whole goal is to keep oxygen up to the brain, so we don’t have cell death,” she said. “Why? Because then when the paramedics show up, if they get a pulse back, and we know you were doing CPR the whole time, they have a much better chance of walking out of the hospital neurologically intact.”
The AED will guide you
Ideally, while one person is performing CPR, another person would be readying the AED. It does not take much preparation; in fact, popping off the lid, applying the chest pads and pressing the “on” button is really all it takes. The AED comes with a small “ready pack” which includes trauma scissors and a small razor blade, tools that might be important depending on the situation.
A bare chest is required to apply the pads correctly, which means shirt removal is necessary and shaving could be as well.
“If you take their shirt off and their chest looks more like a rug than just a little bit of hair, you need to shave first,” Larson said. “This has to be stuck to the skin to be able to read an electrical signal.”
The one-piece pad is easy to apply: Place the ‘X’ in the center of the chest, right where compressions are being performed, and the two pads go into the correct locations. Accompanying pictures illustrate this in case of any confusion. This spot with the “X,” called the “puck,” contains a computer chip that analyzes electrical signals in the heart which determine whether a shock is necessary.
Once the machine is powered on, all that’s left to do is follow its lead. The machine delivers instructions aloud and via a small screen on its face and will guide rescuers through each step, including how long and when to perform compressions and if and when to administer a shock. It even provides feedback on the effectiveness of the chest compressions that are being performed, with instructions like, “Push harder,” or “Good compressions.”
The job of the computer chip is to determine whether a shock is warranted; a shock is only effective when a victim is experiencing cardiac arrest as a result of ventricular fibrillation, or V-fib, the most common cause.
V-fib is “electrical chaos” in the heart, Larson said, that causes the heart to quiver uncontrollably rather than pumping in its usual manner.
“I guess you could say your heart is having a little seizure, because it’s not pumping blood,” she said.
Delivering a shock doesn’t actually jump-start the heart, as is the common belief.
“We’re actually wiping it out and we’re stopping it like your computer,” Larson said. “So if you’re typing on your computer and your computer screen freezes, how do you fix it? You reboot.”
The heart is “rebooted” in a similar fashion. With the chaotic electrical signals cleared with a shock, the heart has a chance to begin beating the way it should on its own.
The machine will not deliver a shock unless the computer chip detects V-fib.
“It doesn’t work like a Taser,” Larson said.
To prove this, she once applied the pads to her own chest on a live machine and asked her children to press the “shock” button. It came back with the command, “No shock advised.”
The only way someone could be incidentally shocked from an AED would be if they were touching the victim while the shock was administered.
“Make sure you clear the patient before you push ‘shock,’ because you can shock somebody who’s touching them,” she said. “You’re not going to hurt them, though. They won’t like you. They’ll get over it. You’ll be fine. Just make sure you say, ‘Clear.'”
An AED is the only way a victim of cardiac arrest would ever wake up on the scene.
“If we get that device on within the first three to five minutes, and you’re in that erratic rhythm it can fix, it can actually wake you up,” Larson said. “Most often you don’t see people wake up from chest compressions only.”
Even if the victim wakes up, Larson advises keeping the pads attached and the machine on until emergency personnel arrive and take over, because the possibility of recurrence is real.
Bystanders make the difference
How fast someone responds in a cardiac arrest emergency makes a dramatic difference. The American Heart Association reports for each minute that passes with CPR or defibrillation, survival chances decrease by seven to 10 percent.
“They’re called public access devices for a reason,” Larson said. “They’re in the public for anybody to use.”
People shouldn’t be afraid to step in, because good Samaritan laws will protect individuals who attempt to save someone’s life, she said.
“A lot of people are intimidated on the whole idea of shocking somebody to get them back, having them come back to life,” said Guida. “It’s going to be commonplace now to have (AEDs) in facilities that have open doors, that people can come in to.”
A system called AED Link, helps bystanders utilize the machine in emergencies. When someone calls 911, the operator can identify an AED within 600 feet of the emergency. Locations with AEDs can register their machine and indicate willingness to be notified if an emergency happens nearby. An automatic message would be sent by AED Link to the contact person at the location in the case of an emergency within 1,200 feet.
This system is in use in Hennepin County, in the Allina EMS service area and 28 other EMS systems in the United States and Canada. According to the company’s website, 911 knowledge of AED locations has improved usage of the machines by an increase of 3,500 percent, from .5 percent to 20 percent.
“It’s not us that save lives,” Larson said. “It’s you guys.”
]]>