Category Archives: CPR Science

woman cpr speech

A LIVING DEAD WOMAN

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Melanie Baldwin was hanging a picture of her with Jeff of their Las Vegas home in the dining room then suddenly Melanie collapsed.

Without wasting time, Jeff called 911 and unlocked the front door for preparation of ambulance. He also closed the bedroom doors because of their four cats. Jeff had his CPR training and he also talked to the dispatcher while giving Melanie CPR.

Melanie had this disease from the day she was born. She also had five open-heart surgeries back in 2013 at the time of her cardiac arrest.

She was born with aortic stenosis disease. A normal person has three flaps but Melanie was born with two flaps and they were very thick and stiff instead of thin and flexible. The flap was so thick that she had only one pinhole through which the blood flow.

Not only that, her heart needed to pump harder which resulted in the enlargement of the heart. She also undergoes an operation at the age of seven.

Because of this condition, she was not able to play sports. When she was 19, doctor replaced her aortic valve with mechanical. She became pregnant at 25 and she developed a blood clot. After 26 weeks of pregnancy, she went for open-heart surgery.

The mechanical valve was then replaced with a pig valve. This means that no more blood thinners. After three months, she successfully gave birth to her daughter.

After a long time, the pig valve was then replaced with a titanium valve. Titanium valve proved to be very effective and they also placed a pacemaker to help her heart.

The rescue of Melanie proved to be dramatic. Her heart became unstable and then she was eight-time defibrillated before her heart got a stable rhythm. The operation took 45 minutes and doctors had no hope.

She spends 10 days in the hospital. Furthermore, doctors decreased her body temperature for a part-time to decrease brain damage. She breathes by the help of breathing tube inserted through her throat.

On the afternoon of 2016, the defibrillator saved her life. She received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. It gives shocks to her heart to bring back into rhythm if needed.

Melanie’s sense of humor is one of the things that has helped her persevere.

“It’s the only thing I’ve got that they can’t take away from me,” she said. “My main point of view in this is the only thing you can control is your attitude.”

It is a message the 54-year-old delivers when sharing her story, something she’s done often for the American Heart Association.

Melanie has volunteered for the AHA by handing out T-shirts or walking in Heart Walks, going to its Heart Ball, speaking at Go Red for Women events and helping post pictures on social media.

“That’s why I give back because the Heart Association is doing so much research, and so much of what they’ve done has affected my life – pacemakers, heart valves and replacements and all that stuff,” she said. “It’s my little way of giving back.”

Source: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/04/24/woman-almost-declared-dead-no-stranger-to-heart-trouble

hands only CPR

Save Lives through Hands-Only CPR

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Irregular heartbeats in cardiac arrest disturbs the blood flow to lungs, brain and other organs which can ultimately lead to death. Reaching the hospital on time or getting the quickest first aid are the only possible ways to save life. American heart association claims 90% of the deaths from cardiac arrest are due to unavailability of nearest hospital. Immediate CPR either from mouth-to-mouth breaths or by hands is the life saver in this situation. Some people think that hands-only CPR is not as effective as CPR with breaths. CPR with breaths is actually compression of chest along with oxygen delivery through mouth. This provides the oxygen artificially for circulation. CPR with breath requires special skills of an expert. Finding an expert nearby a cardiac arrest patient is as risky as reaching the hospital on time. Here comes the need of Hands-only CPR which can be done by anyone who knows the basic procedure. In this technique, both hands are pushed fast and hard in the center of the chest in a speed just like a song with 100-120 beats per minute. Doing this for first few minutes of arrest pushes the remaining oxygen through the body to keep the organs working until an expert arrives or the person reaches hospital. Thus, hands only CPR will buy the time for CPR or medical aid which usually is not very near to the sufferer. Getting immediate hands-only CPR from the nearest available person increases the chances of survival after the cardiac arrest. While CPR with breaths is applied to individuals of all ages such as adults, children, infants and teens, Hands-only CPR is recommended only for teens and adults. Let us spread the word to save more lives by providing immediate hands-only CPR aid to the nearest victim.

SimpleCPR.com, a fully accredited agency, offers easy online training and CPR certification that follows AHA guidelines. You can view the online courses at your own pace and take the certification test when you are ready. The best part is, all of the courses are valid in all 50 states (and Canada) and they come with a money-back guarantee.

Protect Yourself with Hands-Only Adult CPR

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adult cpr

Studies have shown that one of the biggest fears associated with giving adult CPR in emergency situations is the risk of disease transmission. Although the chances of obtaining an infectious disease while performing CPR are extremely low, it is a common worry that keeps many people from helping someone who might be suffering from cardiac arrest. Of course, even knowing that there is a low chance of transmission is still somewhat worrisome, and barrier devices such as mouth guards are not always handy when you find yourself needing to act quickly in an emergency situation. So how can you help others while also protecting yourself? The answer is compression-only adult CPR.

Compression-only adult CPR, also known as hands-only adult CPR, is a form of CPR that excludes any breathing or mouth-to-mouth contact, and focuses solely on chest compressions. Hands-only adult CPR is becoming more and more popular not only because it protects the rescuer, but also because it is a very effective life saving technique in its own right. Unlike the traditional 30:2 (30 compressions to 2 breaths) adult CPR, the hands-only technique uses continuous compressions to build up a pressure in the victim’s chest that actually aids in blood circulation. This pressure is released in 30:2 adult CPR when the rescuer stops for too long to switch from compressions to giving breaths. Hands-only CPR is also easy to teach and explain since there are no ratios or times to remember, just quick compressions until professional help arrives.

Compression-only adult CPR is an excellent technique that gives people a confidence in their abilities as a potential rescuer. Free from worrying about their own safety, anyone can now react quickly in an emergency situation with hands-only adult CPR to effectively aid victims suffering from cardiac arrest. When only seconds may hang in the balance between life and death, a confident and quick reaction to an emergency can make a huge difference.