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Did you know that the guidelines on CPR technique have changed? The bodies that develop the procedures and techniques that two thirds of all cardiac arrest patients will receive, altered their advice on how ‘we’ should carry out Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. According to the American Heart Association, only 1-2% of those in New York city who experience Ventricular Fibrillation survive. With bystanders doing nothing, people are literally left on the street without CPR or Defibrillators, to die. In Seattle, in contrast, around 30% of those affected survive (link to data). It’s those of us who are with out friends or just walking around on the street, that happen to stop and wonder what’s happening, that make the difference. These new guidelines were created at the International Consensus Conference in Dallas, Texas in January 2005. The new guidelines are agreed with the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

The main new focus is on giving effective and unhalted chest compressions to accompany one second ventilations (breaths) that produce notable rise in the chest.

The compression to ventilation ratio is now agreed at 30 compressions to two breaths. 30 to 2. This is what I always ‘forget’ when I’m trying to remember my technique.

Techniques like raising the chin with two fingers to open the airway, using a finger to clear the airways, and a noted dissatisfaction with finding a pulse using the carotid artery, largely because many people find it hard to find. Instead we should look for signs of circulation like colour returning to fingernails when squeezed, coughing or breathing: these are the new consensus though, “Even if the victim takes occasional gasps, rescuers should suspect that cardiac arrest has occurred and should start CPR.”

See the new guidlines on response to cardiac arrest from the AHA (with full scientific information) or just the changes and current procedure from the ‘Currents’ Winter ‘05-’06 Journal.

The University of Washington Medical School has a great page on the three main steps for CPR illustrated with moving diagrams. Whatever you do, learn how to do save the lives of your friends. Even if they can’t, you’ll thank yourself for knowing how.