X-Message-Number: 23509 From: "John de Rivaz" <> Subject: Chest compressions rather than "kiss of life" saves lives Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 11:35:42 -0000 An article in InfoBeat stated that people in emergency situations are less likely to follow instructions to administer the intimate "kiss of life" as opposed to chest compressions only. Emergency telephone call center operators are getting better results by advising bystanders to administer chest compressions only -- pushing the breastbone down about 2 inches and then releasing it once each second. From InfoBeat: >> Doctors are forgoing the rescue-breathing instructions that have long been given by 911 dispatchers in order to eliminate delays that can be caused by bystanders reluctant to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or unable to understand the technique. Instead, the goal is to get chest compressions started immediately after a cardiac-arrest victim collapses and to keep the compressions going until trained rescuers arrive. ''It was a lot easier to tell a panicked person to just compress the chest until rescuers arrive,'' says Michael Copass, Seattle's emergency medical services (EMS) medical director. ''They started as soon as they left the phone.'' By performing deep compressions -- pushing the breastbone down about 2 inches and then releasing it once each second -- untrained people have saved lives. Research continues to favor chest compressions over rescue breathing in those first critical minutes. During that time, the blood in the brain and other vital organs still has oxygen that was picked up when it last passed through the lungs before the heart stopped. The body needs chest compressions to keep this blood moving. New research by defibrillator maker Philips Electronics shows that stopping compressions for just seconds can slash survival rates. <<< -- Sincerely, John de Rivaz: http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy, Nomad .. and more Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23509