Three letters (CPR), can literally stop you in your tracks if you need it. Do you know what the letters stand for? CPR is short for Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation. 

Cardio(heart) Pulmonary (lungs) Resuscitation (revive from unconsciousness or apparent death).

• • • In two Steps you can help save a life (call 911 and Start CPR)

      • Heart Attack Vs Cardiac Arrest – Warning Signs and Symptoms

      In older people, a heart attack can often happen before cardiac arrest where the heart stops beating… but a heart attack in and of itself is not cardiac arrest.

      • Heart Attack Warning Signs and Symptoms include intense discomfort in the center of the chest or other parts of the upper body, breathlessness, sweating, and nausea. But the heart continues to beat, and the person remains awake. This is more of a circulation problem.
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      • In contrast, cardiac arrest is most often an electrical problem that causes the heart to abruptly and unexpectedly stop beating.  When a person goes into cardiac arrest their pulse stops and the heart can no longer pump blood to the rest of the body. 

      When should you do CPR?  IMMEDIATELY! If a person is unresponsive and not breathing, or if you’re not sure if they are breathing, call 911 and then start CPR.  American Heart Association states ‘it is better to do it and not need it than to do nothing at all’.  Six minutes with no oxygen going to the brain and brain cells die. Permanently.  That’s why it is so important to start CPR immediately. 

      How do you do it? When you press down (compress) on the chest between the breastbone (at least two inches in depth) you are manually pumping oxygenated blood back up to the brain! Push hard and fast, to the beat of the song ‘Stayin Alive’ by the Bee Gees.  That song is 100 beats per minute which is the rate you should be doing the compressions. Actually 100 -120 beats per minute is great CPR. 

      It is a very tiring exercise. Once you begin, don’t stop until someone else can take over for you, or the patient begins to show signs of life, like if their eyes open, or if they say ‘get off my chest’! You did nothing wrong. there is a law in Florida compared to the’ Good Samaritan Law’ that protects citizens who, in good faith, are doing CPR on a person they think is in Cardiac Arrest.

      Two steps can save a life.  If you see someone who is unresponsive and not breathing -normally, call 911 and start CPR. 

      Next article we will review where to get the training and how to use the AED. (Automated External Defibrillator).

      Where can Tanglewood Residents get Bystander CPR training?  Right here in Tanglewood!  Stay tuned for date and times.