Be the Beat, learn CPR
As a recipient of CPR — cardiopulmonary resuscitation — on Dec. 14, 2014, at age 54, I can attest that CPR is a life saving method that all should know.
February, known for loving hearts, is American Heart Month. The American Heart Association organization works hard to get the word out. And this year, they are challenging all of us to Be The Beat — an urgent challenge for one person in every home to learn CPR.
According to the AHA website, nearly three out of four cardiac arrests that don’t happen in hospitals happen at home. Be the beat for someone you love when it matters.
On that day in 2014, I was sitting at my office desk talking on the phone with a technician out in the field. As related to me later, I stopped talking in mid-sentence and began making “snoring” like noises — and a few moments later the technician heard through the phone voices screaming instructions. Also related to me later was that I slumped in my office chair and dropped the phone onto the desk, which created a sound that a co-worker across the hall heard and looked up to see what is was. Life save No. 1: someone was close by.
Recently I was one of the million(s) watching the nationally televised football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. I froze at Damar Hamlin’s falling over. I intently watched all of those around him trying to get a feel of what the persons around me had been feeling and doing. It was a moment that stunned and a moment that revealed.
According to the American Heart Association website, cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function in a person who may or may not have been diagnosed with heart disease. It can come on suddenly or in the wake of other symptoms. Cardiac arrest is most often fatal if appropriate steps aren’t taken immediately.
More than 356,000 cardiac arrests occur outside a hospital in the U.S. each year.
From the American Heart Association website:
IS A HEART ATTACK THE SAME AS CARDIAC ARREST?
No. The term “heart attack” is often mistakenly used to describe cardiac arrest. While a heart attack may cause cardiac arrest, the two aren’t the same.
Heart attacks are caused by a blockage that stops blood flow to the heart. A heart attack refers to death of heart muscle tissue due to the loss of blood supply. It’s a “circulation” problem. A heart attack is quite serious and sometimes fatal.
By contrast, cardiac arrest is caused when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions. The heart stops beating properly. The heart’s pumping function is “arrested,” or stopped.
In cardiac arrest, death can result quickly if proper steps aren’t taken immediately. Cardiac arrest may be reversed if CPR is performed and a defibrillator shocks the heart and restores a normal heart rhythm within a few minutes.
Cardiac arrest may be caused by irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmia. A common arrhythmia associated with cardiac arrest is ventricular fibrillation. In ventricular fibrillation, the heart’s lower chambers suddenly start beating chaotically and don’t pump blood.
THE SIGNS OF CARDIAC ARREST
• Sudden loss of responsiveness – The person doesn’t respond, even if you tap them hard on the shoulders or ask loudly if they’re OK. The person doesn’t move, speak, blink or otherwise react.
• No normal breathing – The person isn’t breathing or is only gasping for air.
WHAT TO DO
If you think the person may be suffering cardiac arrest and you’re a trained lay rescuer:
• Ensure scene safety.
• Check for response.
• Shout for help. Tell someone nearby to call 911 or your emergency response number. Ask that person or another bystander to bring you an AED (automated external defibrillator), if there’s one on hand. Tell them to hurry – time is critical. If you’re alone with an adult who has signs of cardiac arrest, call 911 and get an AED (if one is available).
• Check for no breathing or only gasping. If the person isn’t breathing or is only gasping, begin CPR with compressions.
• Begin high quality CPR.
Push down at least two inches in the center of the chest at a rate of 100 to 120 pushes a minute. Allow the chest to come back up to its normal position after each push.
• Use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). As soon as it arrives, turn it on and follow the prompts.
• Continue CPR. Administer it until the person starts to breathe or move, or until someone with more advanced training, such as an EMS team member, takes over.
I can tell you that my workplace co-workers must have done God’s work that day and followed the steps above. I am still here. And CPR administered immediately by a co-worker before EMS arrived, along with the quick response of EMS, was the first and foremost reason why. Though I hate hearing the story from one of my co-workers that she was ready to do that slit in the throat thing and fill it with a pen tube so breath would come back to me right before EMS arrived … I am more than “heartfully” grateful to have had co-workers that knew what to do. And did it fast.
At that time our workplace did not have an AED;
but upon return to work three months later there was one hanging beautifully on the hallway wall!
The Bella Vista Fire Department puts on CPR classes for the public! This is a public resource all of us should take upon ourselves to help us “be the beat.” Why not sign up? Let’s fill the classes! Let’s make Bella Vista CPR responsive and a saver of life. Let’s Be The Beat!
The Bella Vista Fire Department personnel offer CPR/AED training and first aid accredited by the American Heart Association. Infant CPR is also available upon request. Bella Vista businesses, churches, babysitters and other groups or individuals are welcome. The training is free to non-profit agencies, and each class runs from 9 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. at Fire Station 4 located at 1639 Forest Hills Blvd. CPR cards will be delivered via email. Card cost is $25 for the American Heart Association.
Sign up by calling BVFD at 479-855-8249 or by submitting an online form found at: bellavistaar.gov/ government/departments/ fire_ems/CPRsignup.php.