These days globally numerous losing their lives due to cardiac arrests than other illnesses or accidents. One of the saddest things is, that individuals who experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital have less chance of survival. While if CPR is performed for an individual with no time post cardiac arrest the chance of survival is too high. But does CPR help patients every time? Further, let’s have a close look at how effective are these CPR methods and their role in saving individuals’ lives.
What is CPR and why is it performed?
CPR is a blend of chest compressions and rescue breaths which will be employed when an individual’s heart stops beating. The actual goal is to maintain circulation and oxygenation to prevent brain damage and enhance survival rates.
When CPR is not given on time, an individual’s brain cells will start to die within 4 to 6 minutes due to insufficient oxygen. After 10 minutes, the survival rates will drastically drop, simply, every minute without CPR reduces survival rates by 7 to 10%.
Also, when CPR is given on time, it will double or at times triple the chances of survival rates in case CPR is started on time. It buys crucial time until emergency medical service comes. When CPR is given it will protect you from undergoing severe brain damage by maintaining blood flow, also when you aren’t able to help the patient immediately take them to the emergency doctor in Coimbatore to save their lives.
What’s the significance of CPR?
We can say that CPR is one of the life-saving techniques, if this is performed on time it will greatly help in increasing the chances of survival. Also, the effectiveness of CPR depends on various factors like when the CPR gets started post-cardiac arrest, whether an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is used, and notably the individual’s overall health condition. Further, let’s see the importance of CPR:
- Survival rate with immediate CPR: In case CPR is given immediately, the survival rate can be 45% or more than that in a few cases of sudden cardiac arrest.
- Survival without CPR: As mentioned above, without CPR survival rate will drop to less than 10%.
- CPR with AED: Also, when CPR is combined with defibrillation from an AED within the first few minutes, the survival rate will drastically increase by 60 to 70%.
Simply, CPR doesn’t guarantee survival, but will greatly help in increasing the chances of recovery compared to doing nothing.
How effectively does CPR save the lives of individuals?
CPR is one of the best life-saving techniques that greatly increases the chances of survival in cases of cardiac arrest. Whenever your heart stops beating, the oxygenated blood flow to the brain and other crucial organs will get affected and it will cause irreversible damage within minutes. While CPR does magic in maintaining circulation until professional medical help arrives.
Even a few studies have revealed that when CPR is performed immediately it will double or even triple the survival rates of people who underwent cardiac arrest. Also, the effectiveness relies on several factors such as the responder’s technique, how suddenly the CPR is performed, and whether defibrillation is available. High-quality compressions at the right depth and rate are crucial. Further, combining CPR with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) will greatly improve the survival rates.
Also, bystander CPR is crucial because most of the time cardiac arrest occurs outside the hospital. In most cases, several people will hesitate to perform CPR due to a lack of training or fear of doing it in the wrong way. So this is why awareness and training about CPR are crucial. Even hands-only CPR, which involves only chest compressions without rescue breaths, can be highly effective in maintaining good blood circulation levels. Simply, we can say that CPR for heart attack is one of the powerful tools in saving lives, and a better understanding of it can make a great difference in critical situations.
How to perform CPR?
Just by correctly performing CPR you can safeguard someone’s life. Follow the below-mentioned steps:
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Check for responses:
Immediately after the heart attack you should tap the person and ask loudly, “Are you okay?” In case they are not responding, take them to the hospital immediately. If (Automated External Defibrillator) is there, you can get it.
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Start chest compressions:
- Keep the heel of your hand in the center of the chest, that is right below the nipple line.
- Keep your other hand on top, interlocking your fingers.
- Keep your arms straight and put your complete body weight to push hard and fast.
- Compress at a depth of about 2 inches at a rate of 100 to 200 compressions per minute.
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Continue CPR:
Repeat the same like 30 compressions and 2 breaths till the help arrives or the affected person showing any signs of life. If you can’t find anything just keep on performing hands-only CPR that is compressions. This simple step can help someone in regaining their lives.
What are the factors that affect the CPR success rates?
You need to understand that comparatively bystander CPR has lower survival rates than CPR performed by a medical professional. Even it will greatly help in increasing the chance of likelihood of survival rates. So it’s better to know how to perform CPR because it will help in saving someone’s lives in the emergencies.
Globally more than 35% to 45% of people who experience cardiac arrest will receive CPR from onlookers. Also, early bystander CPR won’t help you in increasing the survival rates. Also, several studies have highlighted that neither the rescuer nor the bystander initiates the CPR properly, early bystander CPR will not surge the survival rates.
Also, CPR’s effectiveness will greatly vary between males and females. Simply, the chance of getting help at home is the same for both men and women, but the same won’t happen in public settings. Women will get only 39% of assistance in public places while men will get 45%. This indicates that men have more chance of survival than women. Notably, men will obtain assistance 1.23 times from the onlookers.
Why should I learn CPR?
Whenever a heart stops beating or an individual stops breathing, casualties can occur within a few minutes. Simply, CPR helps in saving lives and minimizing the damage that can happen to someone when waiting for emergency help.
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Save lives:
As all we know, sudden cardiac arrest can occur to anyone at any time. Those individuals affected by the sudden cardiac arrest should be treated immediately. If this is done correctly the patient’s survival rates will increase from out-of-hospital cardiac care.
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Avoid brain death:
During cardiac arrest, the patient’s heart stops supplying blood to the brain and other vital organs of the body. Whenever the blood flow to the brain gets decreased, individuals will become unconscious. The brain will manage the damage for two to three minutes even without the proper blood flow, but after nine minutes the brain can cause irreversible damage without the proper blood flow. CPR helps in maintaining the blood flow and also greatly helps in minimizing the damage to the victim.
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You’ll know how to act during the cardiac emergencies:
When you have sufficient knowledge about CPR, you will have some level of confidence and skills to stay calm during medical emergencies and can assist a person in a correct way who is in need. Individuals with a better understanding of CPR will always be prepared to make a difference by taking action anywhere a cardiac arrest happens.
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Every minute matters during a medical emergency:
Not just for cardiac arrest but for all medical emergencies, every second counts. Patients who undergo cardiac arrest need immediate CPR treatment from the emergency care hospital in Coimbatore to prevent damaging effects that are caused because of insufficient blood flow to the brain, heart, lungs, and other organs. Simply, CPR will improve the patient’s chance of survival.
Fast recovery:
When an individual suffers from sudden cardiac arrest and gets timely CPR, they have more chances of survival and recovery rates. The actual purpose of CPR is to restore blood flow and breathing, it helps in a person’s recovery. Even in some cases, those patients can return back to their normal lives with minimal side effects even after getting high-quality CPR.
How does the effectiveness of CPR get affected?
As mentioned earlier those first few hours post-cardiac arrest are very crucial, that is if CPR is started within 1 – 2 minutes of cardiac arrest, the survival rate is much higher.
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Proper chest compressions:
Those compressions should be at least 2 inches deep and 100 to 200 beats per minute, also the poor technique will reduce the effectiveness of CPR .
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Use of an AED:
This AED has the potential to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm in case the patient has a shockable arrhythmia. Often these AEDs are available in common places such as malls, airports, and gyms.
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Cause of cardiac arrest:
CPR works wonders in cases of sudden cardiac arrest due to heart conditions. It can be less effective for cases caused by severe trauma, end-stage disease, or prolonged lack of oxygen.
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Bystander involvement:
Simply, when the bystander performs CPR, the survival rates will be comparatively higher. Unluckily just 40% of cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander.
What are the types of CPR and which method suits you?
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Hands-only CPR:
- Push fast and harder in the center of the chest that is you should give 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
- No rescue breath is needed.
- Suitable for adult victims of cardiac arrest in public places.
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Conventional CPR:
- First, the victim should be given 30 chest compressions followed that 2 rescue breaths.
- It will help the babies, children, drowning victims, or choking cases.
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CPR with an AED:
- These AEDs will give instructions and deliver a shock if required.
- This method is also ideal for sudden cardiac arrest due to arrhythmias.
Who should learn CPR?
We can say that, everyone should learn CPR, but it’s crucial for:
- Parents and caregivers: Crucial for protecting kids from drowning, choking, or sudden emergencies.
- Teachers: Often schools require CPR-certified teachers or staff.
- Healthcare workers: Mandatory for nurses, doctors, and first responders.
- Fitness trainers: Gyms and sports teams often have AEDs.
- Office workers: Several workplaces have CPR training programs.
Final thoughts:
In conclusion, we can say that the effectiveness of CPR relies on immediate action. Every second counts, and even if you may not be a trained professional, doing something is better than doing nothing. Simply, CPR is an easy step to learn and can double or triple the survival rates. Just learn how to perform CPR because you will never know when you will save someone’s life!
