New Stuff Is Learned, By Experts (And Me) – Part 2
Posted by terrepruitt on January 13, 2020
Oh, thank you for coming back. If you don’t know what I mean, perhaps you want to read part one first. I realize that to some of you this may not be new, but I get excited when I learn something new. I think that is why I love to teach. I want to help people learn stuff and perhaps feel excitement. Here is the rest of what I learned in the latest CPR/AED class that I was required to take.
We were told that through a little survey it was discovered that as high as 65% of first responders didn’t time the chest compressions right. This made me feel very, very, very good. The optimal is 110 compressions per minute. Getting the timing correct is very challenging to me – as I explained – so to hear that even first responders found it challenging was encouraging. To help with this issue in 2019 the 911 system has started using metronomes. There are metronome applications for phones. Download one and set it to 110 beats per minute and there you go. Compress when it ticks. Now there is no having to think about if you are doing it too fast or too slow, just make sure you can hear the metronome and press down when you do!
It has also been discovered that decompression is just as important as compression. There might be a tendency to lean on the chest or not come up enough to allow the chest to decompress and the heart fill with blood. Compressing the chest pushes the blood from the heart to the body and brain. Allowing the chest to decompress lets the heart fill back up with blood so as to not starve it. It is a muscle, it needs blood. So not only we were shown how far to press down we taught to make sure we came up enough. I have never heard that in previous trainings.
Now, for those of you that have taken CPR training you know this, but for those of you that have not one of the things that they emphasize (because it is so important) is to get 911 on its way. So once it has been determined that YES, in fact the person needs medical attention someone is assigned to call 911. And, if you are in a place that has an AED someone is assigned to go get it. That is as much team work as I have ever been instructed upon. One person takes charge and shouts assignments to specific people of calling 911 and getting the AED. Well, two things new to me . . . assign TWO people to go meet the first responders. Fire is going to get there first, so someone needs to bring them to the scene, but then the ambulance arrives, if no one is there to guide them they will not get to the person as quickly as they could then if someone is leading them to the victim. So . . . I would imagine the person calling 911 could be one of the guides.
Then the second thing was make CPR a team effort. If there are other people there that have taken training great! But if not, you can ask someone if they would like to help. Then while you are doing compressions you can instruct them on how to do it, so you can switch when you need a break. Compressions are not easy. They are very tiring. Even if you have your hips over your knees, your arms are straight, your heart is over their heart and you are using your larger muscles (and not your arms) to do the compressions it can get tiring. They say (again with the experts) that after 2 minutes the quality of the compressions starts to degrade. So after 2 minutes – which is 5 sets of 30 chest compressions and 2 ventilations) it is a great idea if you can switch to another person. We practiced working in teams in class. One of us did a set then we switched. The previous classes I took we worked in teams, but only to share a dummy. We didn’t switch off as you would when you need a break. Knowing that I can recruit people to help and not be the ONLY person trying to save someone makes the whole idea of CPR on a non-responsive person less overwhelming. I appreciated that.
In a well populated area it takes roughly 3 to 5 minutes for the first responders to arrive at a location, but it could take them an additional 3 to many minutes to arrive at the scene where the victim is. That could be 6 (at the least) when the person is not getting the blood/oxygen the body needs. So really, if you are doing chest compressions YOU are saving that person’s life.
So, it turns out the class was not as bad as I had thought it would be. I feel I learned stuff. Thanks, Lionheart Safety Training.
Well, are any of those things new to you? What do you think? Are any of these things interesting to you? Have you ever taken a CPR class?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Let me hear it. What have you got to say about this post?