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Can More Rescuers Raise Survival Rate of Cardiac Arrest Victims?
 

When a person’s normal circulation of blood stops because of failure of the heart to contract effectively, this person is said to have cardiac arrest. If he or she is not treated for more than 5 minutes, brain injury and even death is likely to happen. Cardiac arrest, however, should not be confused with heart attack, where blood flow to the muscle of the heart is impaired.

Immediate and decisive treatment is essential for the cardiac arrest victim in order to have the best chance of survival. The common treatment is to use cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to provide circulatory support, followed by defibrillation if a shockable rhythm is present.

CPR, which is an emergency procedure, cannot restart the heart, but it can maintain the flow of blood and oxygen moving and preserve intact brain function until the arrival of medical help. Though the electrical shock from defibrillator could reverse cardiac arrest, the time is still very important: the chances of survival decline by 10 percent for every minute of delay on defibrillator.

According to a paper, which was published by researchers from Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, on June 15, 2012 in journal ‘Resuscitation’, the likelihood of survival for someone suffers cardiac arrest in a public place is higher when more than one bystander come to help.

Data was collected from 5,078 adults who had cardiac arrest outside of a hospital during the period from January 2004 to March 2010. The chances of surviving were found to be up to 2-fold higher when more than one person stepped forward to help. 6 percent of victims were alive 1 year later when 3 or more rescuers were there, comparing to 3 percent when only 1 rescuer. The survival rate was 4 percent when 2 persons came to help. But it was unknown if all of these helpers performed or even knew CPR. It was likely that some of them only tried to help in some way.

The study no doubt confirms the importance of bystanders who offer their help to cardiac arrest victims and the importance of early CPR. But the researchers found no survival advantage for cardiac arrest that happened at home, where most happened, even with multiple rescuers. While the reasons were unclear, it is possible that people who had cardiac arrest outside their home might be relatively healthier.

Data provided by the American Heart Association (AHA) shows that every year, more than 380,000 Americans have cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, but the worrying fact is that most Americans have either not learned CPR at all or their training has lapsed.

Using hands-only CPR, untrained personnel should be able to help cardiac arrest victims until paramedics arrive. Hands-only CPR requires only chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing. Studies had shown that it is as effective as the traditional method in helping adult cardiac arrest victims, though the recommendations for children are different.

It is possible to learn the hands-only CPR without formal training. The person who performs it needs to do steady chest compressions at least 5 cm deep and at a rate of 100 per minute. Research showed that humming the Bee Gees' 1970s disco song "Stayin' Alive" will help find the 100-beat-per-minute rhythm.

Most people are discouraged or afraid to learn CPR because how CPR is performed can lead to complications. The most common injuries resulted from CPR are rib fractures and sternal fractures. Sometimes, a bystander might perform by error on a patient who is not in cardiac arrest, but this leads to only about 2 percent of injury and about 12 percent of discomfort.

As recommended by AHA and other health groups, everyone should learn how to perform CPR because we never know when we will have to use it to save someone who might be our loved one.

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