Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening
situation which can strike people irrespective of their age or sex. The best
way to deal with cardiac emergencies is by getting trained in the life-saving
CPR techniques. Healthcare providers and medical students can go for a BLS certification Memphis program in
order to learn the indispensable life-saving procedures. CPR stands for
cardiopulmonary resuscitation which is a combination of chest compressions and
rescue breaths. Proper application of the techniques can lead to the survival
of a cardiac arrest victim. Always choose an accredited training center for training
purpose. If you are a resident of Memphis in Tennessee enroll for a CPR class
at the AHA accredited CPR Memphis where classes are conducted by certified instructors.
Go through the course curriculum prior to enrolling for a program as there are
programs for both healthcare as well as non-healthcare providers.
Read on to know about the Adult Basic
Life Support sequence:
1. Prior to everything else, make sure that you,
the victim and the bystanders are all safe. Then check for the responsiveness
of the victim by shaking his or her shoulder.
2. If the victim responds, leave him in the
position as it is and make sure there is no further danger. Ask whether he
needs any help. If the victim is unresponsive, shout for help and call for the
emergency medical services if you are not aware of the life-saving procedures.
Turn the victim onto his back and then open the airway using head; tilt and
chin lift; gently tilt his head back and place your hand on his forehead; lift
the chin to open the airway with your fingertips under the point of the
victim’s chin.
3. After opening the airway, check whether the
victim is breathing:
3.1. Look for chest movement, go near the victim’s
mouth and listen for breath sounds, check whether breathing is normal, not
normal or absent.
4. If the victim is breathing normally:
4.1. Call for help or dial 911 for the emergency
medical services
4.2. See to it that the breathing remains normal
5. If the breathing is not normal or absent:
5.1. Send someone to look for an AED device.
5.2. Start With Chest Compressions- place the heel of one hand in the centre of the
victim’s chest; (the lower half of the victim’s breastbone- sternum); place the
heel of the other hand on top of the first; interlock the fingers and keep your
arms straight, do not apply any pressure over the upper abdomen or the bottom
end of the sternum; position yourself vertically above the victim’s chest and
press down on the sternum at a depth of 5 cm; continue with the chest
compressions at the rate of 100 per minute; after each compression, release all
the pressure and both compression and release should take equal amounts of
time.
6. Start with the rescue breaths:
6.1. Pinch the nose with the index finger and thumb
of your hand and open the mouth with the chin lift.
6.2. Take a normal breath and place your lips
around his mouth, making sure that you have a good seal.
6.3. Blow into the victim’s mouth and check for his
or her chest to rise, the rescue breath should at least last 1 second.
6.4. Maintaining head tilt and chin lift, take your
mouth away from the victim and watch for the chest to fall as air comes out.
6.5. Then provide the victim with another rescue
breath and the two rescue breaths should not take more than 5 seconds in all.
6.6. Continue with chest compressions and rescue
breaths in a ratio of 30:2.
6.7. Do pause for a moment to recheck only if the
victim starts to wake up: to move or open eyes and to breathe normally.
Otherwise, do not interrupt resuscitation. If your rescue breath does not make
the chest rise then prior to the next attempt: look into the victim’s mouth to
check for any obstruction, re-check that there is adequate head tilt and chin
lift.
6.8. If there is any other rescuer present, he or
she should take over from the first rescuer in delivering CPR in order to avoid
fatigue. See to it that there is minimum interruption during chest
compressions.
7. The resuscitation should not be interrupted
until the arrival of emergency medical services or the victim starts to regain
consciousness or you become exhausted.
Comments
Post a Comment