Tag Archives: cardiac arrest

Hispanic Community

More CPR Training May Be Needed in Hispanic Neighborhoods

Having CPR performed by a bystander can double the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. But a new study shows that you’re less likely to get help, and therefore less likely to survive, if your heart stops in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood.

The study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal     Circulation, found the greater the percentage of Hispanic residents in a neighborhood, the lower the chances of receiving bystander CPR and the lower the chances of survival.

Specifically, it showed people who had a cardiac arrest in neighborhoods where at least half of the residents were Hispanic were 39% less likely to receive bystander CPR than those living in neighborhoods that were less than a quarter Hispanic. In neighborhoods where more than three-fourths of the residents were Hispanic, people in cardiac arrest were 40% less likely to receive bystander CPR – and 44% less likely to survive.

The study analyzed data from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in neighborhoods in Alabama; Dallas; Milwaukee; San Diego; Pittsburgh; Seattle; and Portland, Oregon, from 2011-2015.

“We know that bystander CPR improves your chances for survival,” said Audrey Blewer, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. “But in Hispanic neighborhoods, it’s not happening.”

More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside hospitals each year, with 18.8% of those taking place in public settings. About 9 out of 10 people whose hearts stop outside a hospital die. But nearly 45% would survive if bystander CPR is administered, prior research shows.

Blewer said her study points to the need for greater CPR training in Hispanic communities, as well as a deeper look into why these disparities may exist.

The study didn’t delve into those reasons, but Marina Del Rios has some ideas.

To read those ideas and the rest of the article, visit the source: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/12/30/bystander-cpr-less-common-in-hispanic-neighborhoods

cardiac arrest cpr

Cardiac Arrest: From Hero to Victim

Joe Farrell went to retrieve an errant golf ball when he came upon another player on the ground not breathing. The man’s golfing partner was attempting CPR but not performing it properly.

Joe, a physical therapist, took over. He made sure 911 was called before starting chest compressions. Paramedics arrived and revived the man after several shocks from an automated external defibrillator.

“It was absolutely a big moment in my life and a very humbling event,” Joe said.

He thought at the time that if he ever went into cardiac arrest, he hoped to be lucky enough to have someone nearby who could perform CPR on him. He knew CPR, especially if administered quickly, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.

A year later, Joe was that lucky.

Then 56, Joe was talking with fellow physical therapists during a luncheon when he lost consciousness and stopped breathing.

One of the men called 911 and started chest compressions while Joe’s wife, Edie, also a physical therapist, looked on terrified.

Paramedics quickly arrived with an AED. It took seven shocks to restore Joe’s heart rhythm.

As they were entering the emergency room, Joe’s heart stopped again. The AED again revived him.

Joe was put into an induced coma for three days and underwent hypothermia for 24 hours to minimize any brain damage. Edie feared she would lose her husband of 30 years. Making the situation even more stressful, she felt the cardiologist assigned to them was inattentive. He didn’t even look at her when he spoke.

“I happened to know that the son of a friend was a cardiologist and I begged him to take Joe on as a patient,” Edie said. “He is the one who said that Joe should not be allowed to leave the hospital until he had an ICD.”

The friend’s son indeed took over as the cardiologist and Joe received an ICD, or implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The battery-powered device was placed under Joe’s skin to track his heart rate. If it detects a dangerous heart rhythm, it delivers an electric shock.

Doctors later determined a medication side effect – low potassium – had caused his cardiac arrest.

While recuperating at home, Joe felt secure his ICD would protect him. Still, he feared another cardiac arrest.

He cut back on his work hours to help relieve stress. But what really brought Joe relief was a newfound purpose: spreading the word about cardiac arrest, CPR training and the use of defibrillators.

There are more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the United States, with nearly 90 percent of them fatal.

Read the full article here: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-10-17/aha-news-he-used-cpr-in-an-emergency-ndash-then-he-became-the-emergency

daughter performs cpr on mom

Daughter Saves Mothers Life After Being Coached Through CPR by 911 Operator

Back in March of 2017, Mary Smith took an afternoon off work to visit her daughter and 2-week-old baby grandson, Brody, at their Minneapolis suburb home.

Mary brought groceries inside for dinner and carried a mobile crib up the stairs from the car. She suddenly found herself out of breath.

She collapsed, making a thud that her daughter, Lindsey Bomgren, heard from the hallway to the nursery.

Thinking her mom fell, Bomgren called out to her. Smith didn’t respond.

Bomgren put down Brody and raced to the entryway. She grabbed her phone and called 911. She told the dispatcher her mom wasn’t breathing. Smith was in cardiac arrest.

Bomgren then asked the dispatcher a question that would change everything: Can you coach me through CPR?

Although Bomgren had refreshed her training for CPR, a lifesaving technique, nine months earlier as part of her job as a fitness instructor, now that she had to use it – and on her mom – she needed guidance and support.

The dispatcher told her to stack hand-over-hand and place them in the center of her mom’s chest. The dispatcher then repeated the words “pump, pump, pump” to maintain the rhythm needed to keep blood flowing to Smith’s organs.

“It made me feel I was not all alone,” Bomgren said. “It provided a sense of calm.”

She provided Hands-Only CPR for nearly 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived and paramedics took over.

More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year. CPR, especially if administered immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.

Paramedics administered two shocks from an automated external defibrillator to get Smith’s heart back into rhythm before transporting her to the hospital.

For the full story, visit the source: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-08-12/aha-news-daughter-makes-lifesaving-plea-to-911-coach-me-through-cpr