How to save a life
WELL & GOOD
Last week, I attended an update course on CPR – also known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
As doctors, it is part of our ‘‘fitness to practise’’ to make sure that we do a refresher course at least every three years. Every time I do it, I am amazed how much I learn – and how essential this skillset is.
In New Zealand, as in many other similar countries, sudden cardiac arrests are common. In fact, more than 2000 people a year will have a cardiac arrest in the community and, if CPR doesn’t happen within a small number of minutes, their odds of surviving are minuscule. A statistic I learned on my course was that for every minute CPR and a defibrillator shock are delayed, the chance of survival goes down by 10 per cent. That’s a hugely compelling reason as to why we should all know how to do effective CPR, regardless of whether or not we are a health provider.
Relying on the slim chance that if you or a loved one do have a cardiac arrest, you will be lucky enough for it to happen in hospital where you will be surrounded by specialists, isn’t necessarily going to pay off.
Cardiac arrest occurs when our hearts have stopped beating, we stop breathing and we become unconscious. In this state, no oxygenated blood is being circulated around the body and our vital organs, most importantly our brains, start to die. Cardiac arrests happen for all sorts of reasons, but are most common in older people as a result of a massive cardiac event – such as a big heart attack or an abnormal heart rhythm.
They can also occur as a result of blood clots, overwhelming infection, trauma with significant blood loss, drug overdose and severe allergy known as anaphylaxis.
In children, thankfully, cardiac arrest is much less likely, but can occur as a complication of accidents (such as drowning or choking), or congenital heart defects.
For some people, a cardiac arrest can happen
with no warning sign at all – but for others, they may experience chest pain, palpitations, faintness, or shortness of breath. If anyone you know develops symptoms like these, don’t panic as there could be lots of other things going on, but pick up the phone and talk to someone who can give you advice immediately – this might be the ambulance service on 111 if they look very unwell, or healthline on 0800 611 116 if they don’t.
Once someone has actually had an arrest, they will be unconscious (so you won’t be able to get a response by either talking to them, or trying to ‘‘stimulate’’ them by squeezing or gently shaking their shoulders); they won’t have any sign of breathing and they won’t have a pulse. If this happens, the time to act is now.
If you witness an arrest, or are asked to help by someone else, it is really important to know roughly what to do – you certainly don’t need to be an expert, but even doing some simple things can save a life.
The first thing to make sure of is that you and others aren’t in any danger – if you are, don’t get involved until the situation is safe – there is nothing to be gained by putting your life on the line, to try to save someone else’s, then there will just be two people in a critical condition, instead of one.
If the situation is safe, call for help immediately – you can’t manage this on your own, so getting specialised help there as soon as possible is crucial. Ask a passerby to call an ambulance, or use your phone to do this yourself – the ambulance will need to know that you are with an unresponsive person (either adult or child) who isn’t breathing. They will then prioritise this and should arrive within a