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From: Jeffrey Siegel (no email)
Date: Mon Nov 01 2004 - 08:38:12 EST
There are HUGE misconceptions regarding CPR and defibrillation. I'm not
sure where they come from or why they continue to exist in light of
overwhelming evidence. To clear up a few:
> The majority of Cardiac arrests and recusitations I have seen
> did not require defribrilation in my 35 yrs in the field.
> CPR and stabilization of the airway were the most common.
Recent studies have shown CPR performed out-of-hospital results in only a 1
- 3% survival rate. A fairly large study (http://tinyurl.com/6d698) with
tight parameters showed a 4.6% survival rate. CPR alone is effective for
certain respiratory arrest conditions (drowning, etc.) and it can prolong
the time available before defibrillation is applied. For the most part, you
will die if you only receive CPR in a boating or cruising situation for
cardiac arrest.
In addition to many studies like this, there are multiple books written on
this exact subject. I'd refer anyone to "Sudden Death and the Myth of CPR"
which I have read (http://tinyurl.com/6w3lc). Go read the information on
Amazon about this book. For heavens sake, just look at the title!
[Please note my tinyurl use - thank you all for the suggestions]
> Call me "low tech", but if I get to experience "the big one",
> my plan is to take a handful of aspirin and call 911.
> There something inherently dangerous about a scared girlfriend
> and devices that produce a large amount of electricity.
There are two widely believed misconceptions described by that.
1. A "heart attack" is different than cardiac arrest. There are many other
things that can cause cardiac arrest, especially in boats! If you ever
think you're having "the big one," issue a mayday before you run for your
aspirin. By the way, the first sign of having "the big one" is...denial, so
I doubt you'll ever run for the aspirin anyway. If you are ever actually in
cardiac arrest, you won't be able to find the aspirin, open it, or swallow
one, before you pass out. Additionally, aspirin will do nothing to convert
you out of the deadly cardiac rhythm you are in.
2. AED's cannot hurt anyone unless they are swung around and banged into
someone's head! They cannot shock a person unless the person is in a deadly
cardiac rhythm. An AED is a combination of a cardiac monitor (ECG/EKG) and
a defibrillator. The device takes your EKG and evaluates it. The shock can
only be delivered if your rhythm falls into very narrow classifications, no
matter how angry your girlfriend or wife is with you. The FDA and AAMI have
very tight requirements before an AED can be put into the US market.
While talking with my wife last night (an EMT and certified CPR instructor),
we realized that we spent more than twice the amount of money of an AED on
our life raft. The funny thing is that before we ever pull up our anchor,
we make careful evaluations to decide whether it is safe to venture out. We
check the weather. We check our boat. We do everything we can to avoid the
need to use our life raft.
By comparison, there is very little that we can do to prepare so that we
won't become a cardiac arrest victim. Although we are fit and healthy,
cardiac arrest can happen to anyone. It isn't the same thing as a heart
attack! The number of athletes who die from cardiac arrest in their prime
would astound you.
By the way, Murray Archdekin's comments are right on the mark. An AED alone
will do very little without the proper training. At a minimum, everyone
should take a CPR course. Ask your instructors about AED's. Don't believe
all of the hype and misinformation. Go find out for yourself...
================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine
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