Hands-on saves lives
July 30, 2010
NEW research from the US,
published in the New England
Journal of Medicine, has found that
bystanders would be more likely to
step in and help revive a stranger if
they were to use hands-only chest
compression, avoiding “confusing”
mouth to mouth resuscitation.
The study also found that handsonly
CPR may be enough to keep a
person alive until emergency crews
arrive, a position which has been
held by the American Heart
Association since 2008.
According to figures, at present
only 6% of Americans who suffer a
heart attack outside of a hospital
survive.
This figure doubled to 12% in the
study, when CPR was administered
by a bystander with instruction from
dispatchers, before ambulance
officers arrived (80% of callers
attempted CPR when given handsonly
instructions, compared to 70%
who gave hands and mouth
CPR a go).
Researchers are now encouraging
dispatchers to be more proactive in
coaching callers through CPR.
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