I’ve learned something unpleasant about CPR today

[Stormy Kromer]

I was trained while I was on the local Fire Dept. They told us to pump on the guy's chest to the beat of "Stayin Alive". ( We were products of the 70's). The instructor told us our job was to keep blood flow to the brain til the De Fib unit came.

I never saw anyone revived by CPR, but that De Fib brought a lot of folks back.

I did get to use my Heimlich maneuver training once. I was at a gas station when a guy at the next pump came up to me with his hands on his throat. I got behind him and one good jolt sent that peanut cookie out of his throat and across the parking lot.

 

[Koolau]

I was trained while I was on the local Fire Dept. They told us to pump on the guy's chest to the beat of "Stayin Alive". ( We were products of the 70's). The instructor told us our job was to keep blood flow to the brain til the De Fib unit came.

I never saw anyone revived by CPR, but that De Fib brought a lot of folks back.

I did get to use my Heimlich maneuver training once. I was at a gas station when a guy at the next pump came up to me with his hands on his throat. I got behind him and one good jolt sent that peanut cookie out of his throat and across the parking lot.

Yes, people, when you do the Heimlich, PLEASE point them away from my table!

 

[RetMD21]

My gut says that your chances of saving someone you didn't actually see collapse are exceedingly small. Someone earlier in the thread pointed that out.

CPR is not futile excluding when you friend is involved. Survival to hospital discharge from cardiac arrest varies by county from 3.4% to 22%. Bystander intervention and AED use helps. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.115.018175

 

[Rianne]

How do you access DNR within seconds of cardiac arrest? And this article opens a can of worms regarding the quality of life after any treatment or diagnosis. I'll stop here since OP initiated the discussion of CPR. This conversation can go way beyond CPR.

 

[Car-Guy]

Having been an EMT I'd probably only do CPR if I saw someone collapse right in front of me.

After screaming "call 911!" and "go get an AED!" to any bystanders.

If I came upon someone who was "cold" (room temperature) to the touch I wouldn't bother.

Yep, the wife of a friend of mine had a heart attack "while at her work". I'm not sure if the folks at her work location or the arriving EMT's revived her but it was really too late, as the damage had been done. She was now a quadriplegic for life (think advanced ALS) and had the mind of someone with advanced Alzheimer's. I knew her before the heart attack. Bright, pretty and in her early 50's. Afterwards, . Sad to see what it did to her and the impact to her husband and family over the next 10 years.

 

[Koolau]

Yep, the wife of a friend of mine had a heart attack "while at her work". I'm not sure if the folks at her work location or the arriving EMT's revived her but it was really too late, as the damage had been done. She was now a quadriplegic for life (think advanced ALS) and had the mind of someone with advanced Alzheimer's. I knew her before the heart attack. Bright, pretty and in her early 50's. Afterwards, . Sad to see what it did to her and the impact to her husband and family over the next 10 years.

Yes, we never know what is going to happen to people that we do CPR on. I guess that probably shouldn't be a decision maker whether to try or not. Just my opinion, of course, so YMMV.

 

[Pluperfect]

Having been an EMT I'd probably only do CPR if I saw someone collapse right in front of me.

After screaming "call 911!" and "go get an AED!" to any bystanders

I took a CPR class a million years ago and have always remembered that they said to address an individual person and tell them, "Call 911." Because otherwise people might assume someone else was taking care of it and not do anything themselves.

Of course that was long before cell phones, where it would take some effort for someone to call 911, but I still like the advice. People being people, you know.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I took a CPR class a million years ago and have always remembered that they said to address an individual person and tell them, "Call 911." Because otherwise people might assume someone else was taking care of it and not do anything themselves.

Of course that was long before cell phones, where it would take some effort for someone to call 911, but I still like the advice. People being people, you know.

Yup. The point person is to look someone in the eye and instruct them.... "YOU! call 911!". Not the whole herd. Just one person. The rest of you will take turns at CRP til the ambulance arrives.