AHA Releases New CPR Guidelines

A new order for CPR, spelled C-A-B


Please find an electronic press kit that includes a stats/fact sheet, chart of key changes, steps of CPR, CPR graphic and survivor stories at this link: http://www.pimsmultimedia.com/AHA_CPR/.



Statement Highlights:

When administering CPR, immediate chest compressions should be done first.

Untrained lay people are urged to administer Hands-Only CPR (chest compressions only).

DALLAS, Oct. 18, 2010 — The American Heart Association is re-arranging the ABCs of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in its 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Recommending that chest compressions be the first step for lay and professional rescuers to revive victims of sudden cardiac arrest, the association said the A-B-Cs (Airway-Breathing-Compressions) of CPR should now be changed to C-A-B (Compressions-Airway-Breathing).

“For more than 40 years, CPR training has emphasized the ABCs of CPR, which instructed people to open a victim’s airway by tilting their head back, pinching the nose and breathing into the victim’s mouth, and only then giving chest compressions,” said Michael Sayre, M.D., co-author of the guidelines and chairman of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Committee. “This approach was causing significant delays in starting chest compressions, which are essential for keeping oxygen-rich blood circulating through the body. Changing the sequence from A-B-C to C-A-B for adults and children allows all rescuers to begin chest compressions right away.”

In previous guidelines, the association recommended looking, listening and feeling for normal breathing before starting CPR. Now, compressions should be started immediately on anyone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally.

All victims in cardiac arrest need chest compressions. In the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest, victims will have oxygen remaining in their lungs and bloodstream, so starting CPR with chest compressions can pump that blood to the victim’s brain and heart sooner. Research shows that rescuers who started CPR with opening the airway took 30 critical seconds longer to begin chest compressions than rescuers who began CPR with chest compressions.

The change in the CPR sequence applies to adults, children and infants, but excludes newborns.

Other recommendations, based mainly on research published since the last AHA resuscitation guidelines in 2005:

During CPR, rescuers should give chest compressions a little faster, at a rate of at least 100 times a minute.

Rescuers should push deeper on the chest, compressing at least two inches in adults and children and 1.5 inches in infants.

Between each compression, rescuers should avoid leaning on the chest to allow it to return to its starting position.

Rescuers should avoid stopping chest compressions and avoid excessive ventilation.

All 9-1-1 centers should assertively provide instructions over the telephone to get chest compressions started when cardiac arrest is suspected.

“Sudden cardiac arrest claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year in the United States, and the American Heart Association’s guidelines have been used to train millions of people in lifesaving techniques,” said Ralph Sacco, M.D., president of the American Heart Association. “Despite our success, the research behind the guidelines is telling us that more people need to do CPR to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest, and that the quality of CPR matters, whether it’s given by a professional or non-professional rescuer.”

Since 2008, the American Heart Association has recommended that untrained bystanders use Hands-Only CPR — CPR without breaths — for an adult victim who suddenly collapses. The steps to Hands-Only CPR are simple: call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast on the center of the chest until professional help or an AED arrives.

Key guidelines recommendations for healthcare professionals:

Effective teamwork techniques should be learned and practiced regularly.

Professional rescuers should use quantitative waveform capnography — the monitoring and measuring of carbon dioxide output — to confirm intubation and monitor CPR quality.

Therapeutic hypothermia, or cooling, should be part of an overall interdisciplinary system of care after resuscitation from cardiac arrest.

Atropine is no longer recommended for routine use in managing and treating pulseless electrical activity (PEA) or asystole.

Pediatric advanced life support (PALS) guidelines provide new information about resuscitating infants and children with certain congenital heart diseases and pulmonary hypertension, and emphasize organizing care around two-minute periods of uninterrupted CPR.

The CPR and ECC guidelines are science-based recommendations for treating cardiovascular emergencies — particularly sudden cardiac arrest in adults, children, infants and newborns. The American Heart Association established the first resuscitation guidelines in 1966.

The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of Kouwenhoven, Jude, and Knickerbocker’s landmark study documenting cardiac arrest survival after chest compressions.

A complete list of authors is on the manuscript.

Statements and conclusions of study authors that are presented at American Heart Association scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect association policy or position. The association makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy most manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.


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Study: Obese Workers Cost Employers $73 Billion Per Year

By Meredith Melnick Monday, October 11, 2010

PrintObesity is expensive — for the person living with it, for the health-care system and now, according to a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, for employers. The U.S. economy suffers a $73.1 billion hit as a result of an obese work force.

Researchers from Duke University followed normal-weight, overweight and obese full-time workers, measuring the financial consequences of medical expenditures, lost productivity on the job because of health problems (referred to as presenteeism) and missed work due to health problems (absenteeism). Across the board, obese workers had the most expensive health care, the most interruption to their productivity when on the job and the most days absent.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/11/study-obese-workers-cost-employers-73-billion-per-year/print/#ixzz130lhqQw6

Dr. Spradlin talks about life with a stroke on Channel 4

Dr. Janet Spradlin, immediate past president of the AHA SouthCentral Affiiliate Board, was recently interviewed on News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City about living life after a stroke. Dr. Spradlin did a great job so please take a few minutes to watch.

Link to story: http://www.kfor.com/videobeta/f706a2c2-3021-4e66-9d73-347c502a3b5f/News/Healthcheck

Oklahoma Heart Institute Recognized as a Top Get With The GuidelinesSM Participant

Oklahoma Heart Institute – Hospital, on the campus of Hillcrest Medical Center, has been recognized for its demonstrated commitment to using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible care to patients through the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the GuidelinesSM (GWTG) program.
Introduced in 2000, GWTG helps hospitals close the gap between recommended treatment and actual treatment of heart patients. Hospitals implementing the quality improvement program generally see measurable results.
Each year, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize hospitals for their success in using GWTG to improve quality of care for heart disease and stroke patients.

Read MORE.

If you’re like most Americans, you have questions about how the new health reform law, the Affordable Care Act, will affect you and your family. The American Heart Association has produced a series of brief videos with questions from real consumers and responses from experts about how the new law will impact patients with heart disease or stroke. Learn more by visiting: http://www.heartsforhealthcare.org/.

Here are some videos that you may find helpful:

"Will health care reform make coverage more affordable for families like mine? How will it work?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1-92P-Uxs&feature=player_embedded

“How will healthcare reform address the needs of patients like me, who have lost their jobs and employer insurance?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sh-rbM1P3g&feature=player_embedded

"Will the new health reform law make prevention and preventive coverage an integral part of health care and place more emphasis on preventing disease, rather than treating it?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sh-rbM1P3g&feature=player_embedded

Tulsa County says "No Smoking" in county buildings and vehicles

Tulsa County followed Oklahoma County by making their buildings and vehicles smoke free yesterday. You can read more about the vote here  http://tinyurl.com/2bv7dc2


Oklahoma already has a statewide law that prohibits smoking in most workplaces. This policy would prohibit all tobacco not only inside buildings but outside and in the county owned vehicles opperated by their employees.

San Antonio vote puts Oklahoma further behind

Newsok.com posted an editorial today from a Smoke-Free Oklahoma supporter regarding the vote by San Antonio to become the final large city in Texas to be smoke-free. Read more below.

Move by San Antonio places Oklahoma further behind competition


Read more: http://www.newsok.com/move-by-san-antonio-places-oklahoma-further-behind-competition/article/3492662?custom_click=headlines_widget#ixzz0yxAnK7ae