Text messages are saving Swedes from cardiac arrest

Sweden has found a faster way to treat people experiencing cardiac emergencies through a text message and a few thousand volunteers. A program called SMSlivräddare - or SMSLifesaver - solicits people who have been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). When a Stockholm resident dials 112 for emergency services, a text message is sent to all volunteers within 500 meters of the person in need. The volunteer then arrives at the location within the crucial first minutes to perform lifesaving CPR. The odds for surviving cardiac arrest drop 10% for every minute it takes first responders to arrive. "The traditional emergency services, especially the ambulance - they have problems in the Stockholm area," said Dr. Mårten Rosenqvist, a professor of cardiology and spokesman for the group. "First there are not so many, second there is heavy traffic in Stockholm, and third, they are usually occupied by doing other things: transporting patients to the emergency room, or transporting patients between hospitals." With ambulance resources stretched thin, the average response time is some eight minutes, allowing SMSlivräddare volunteers to reach victims before ambulances in 54% of cases

Restarting hearts: new machine could make big difference for London cardiac patients (UK)

Middlesex-London EMS crews are already among the best in the country at saving cardiac-arrest victims, but new equipment they're testing could see that success rate climb. The national average for survival of cardiac arrest is a terrifying 10%. Middlesex-London paramedics, however, boast a 30% survival rate, superintendent of education Jay Loosley said. "We're seeing the highest rates of survival from cardiac arrest that we've ever seen," he said. Loosley said paramedics have been striving to minimize the crucial few seconds between shocking the patient with a defibrillator and the resumption of CPR. "The longer you're off the chest doing something, the more the chance of survival goes down," said. "We're trying to focus on hands off the chest, shock him, and hands back on the chest. Some of our medics are doing it in about one or two seconds, which is amazing." Upping the odds is a machine that performs CPR automatically, freeing the paramedic to offer more treatment to the patient. Crews are in the midst of a three-month trial with the machine. "It provides mechanical chest compressions to cardiac arrest victims," Loosley said. "The benefit is it can allow paramedics to have their hands free. They don't need to be on the chest and it's always perfect.” Currently, three of them are being tested, but the cost is prohibitive at $12,000 apiece. Loosley's a fan, though. "When you stop CPR to do anything, even for a few seconds, that's when you see your (chance of) survival go down," he said. "With this, someone is always on the chest."

CPR Makes You Undead (Canada)

In the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, every second counts. About 7,000 cardiac arrests occur in the province each year, according to data from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. A person's chances of survival can be up to 75 per cent if rapid, early response is started at the scene using cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillation. Unfortunately, the rate of bystander participation seldom exceeds 30 per cent and AEDs are used in less than 10 per cent of cases. The survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests is less than 6 per cent, Heart and Stroke estimates based on its most recent data. It also notes the probability of survival declines by up to 10 per cent with every minute that passes. Last month, Heart and Stroke launched a public awareness campaign dubbed CPR Makes You Undead, which aims to increase bystander involvement in emergency and cardiac arrest situations. The goal of the campaign is to raise public awareness and promote hands-only CPR, foundation health promotion and public affairs director Mark Holland said. "We must do better and we can, if we all learn CPR."

Good Samaritan gives CPR to Canadian tourist suffering heart attack in midtown (USA)

The family of a Canadian tourist who suffered a heart attack in midtown want to say "thank you" the stranger who saved his life. Relatives of Jason Kroft, a Toronto lawyer, have put up fliers around 6th Ave. and 45th St. hoping the good Samaritan works in the area and will come forward. Kroft, 40, was visiting family in Manhattan on October 5th when he clutched his chest and fell to his knees, his brother Ryan Kroft told ABC. The family called 911, but with no time to spare, a stranger emerged from the crowd. "The man appeared and asked a few questions and the next thing I knew he was giving mouth-to-mouth," Kroft said. As the ambulance arrived, Jason Kroft's wife, two daughters and brother rushed to see him into the ambulance. The life-saving stranger had already disappeared into the crowd. The family has only been able to identify the man as red-haired, in his 40's, and wearing a blue jacket and dress pants. Kroft was recovering after open-heart surgery at St. Luke's Hospital. "We would definitely like to find the guy and thank him, but if he doesn't want to be identified, we don't want to force him," Ryan Kroft said

Duration of resuscitation efforts and survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest: an observational study

New research suggests that increasing the duration of resuscitation efforts could improve survival in patients who arrest in hospital, challenging the common belief that extending resuscitation in patients who do not respond immediately is often futile. Zachary Goldberger and colleagues have used the American Heart Association's Get with the Guidelines - Resuscitation registry (globally, the largest in-hospital cardiac arrest registry) to assess the duration of resuscitation before termination of efforts in non-survivors as an indicator of the overall tendency of a hospital to attempt resuscitation for longer - The Lancet

Nursery rhyme helps conduct CPR

The children's nursery rhyme "Row, row, row your boat" provides the right beat for chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a U.S. expert says. Dr. Ahamed Idris of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in conjunction with the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium, said one administering CPR should perform between 100 and 120 chest compressions per minute for the best chance to restore a pulse. Compressions to the chest performed to the repeatable beat of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" [Gently down the stream, Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream] fall right in that crucial range, Idris said. "More or less compressions have a substantially lower chance of restoring a heartbeat," Idris, an emergency medicine expert, said in a statement. Idris said three steps can significantly improve the chance of saving the life of someone who suffers cardiac arrest -call 9-1-1; use both palms to press hard on the center of the chest, and repeatedly hum the "row, row, row your boat" tune while maintaining the compressions; do not stop until first responders arrive. The findings were published in the journal Circulation

New Mobile Phone App to help save lives announced by San Jose Fire Department and El Camino (USA)

A free CPR "citizen responder" mobile phone application will help save lives through a new partnership between the San Jose Fire Department and El Camino Hospital. The PulsePoint app enables members of the public to provide life-saving assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest, which causes nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the United States. San Jose is the nation's largest city to utilize PulsePoint's location-aware technology. The app is available for both the iPhone and Android smart phones. "The first few minutes after a sudden cardiac arrest are critical for saving lives, and this app will help citizens provide immediate assistance," said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "Technology can help us build a safer, stronger and healthier community, and our partnership with El Camino Hospital to bring PulsePoint to San Jose is a wonderful example of this commitment at no cost to us." App users, who have indicated they are trained in CPR, can be notified if someone nearby is having a cardiac emergency and may require CPR. The app uses sophisticated location-based services to alert citizens in a public place of the need for CPR. The application also directs citizen rescuers to the exact location of the nearest publicly available automated external defibrillator (AED). The PulsePoint app will be made available to additional communities in Santa Clara County over the next year

Hockey player in cardiac arrest revived with AED (Canada)

Ottawa paramedics are crediting a defibrillator for helping revive a hockey player who collapsed November 19 from cardiac arrest. They said the 41-year-old was playing at the Minto Arena in southeast Ottawa when he collapsed around 11:00 a.m. Bystanders, including an off-duty paramedic, started CPR immediately and shocked him three times with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to help him regain consciousness. Paramedics said the man was conscious and talking to them when they handed him over to hospital staff. Paramedics said they'd like to acknowledge the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario for providing this particular AED, one of more than 600 in Ottawa that paramedics oversee. They said the "chain of survival", which includes early CPR, early defibrillation and early notification of paramedics, drastically improves survival rates in people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest

Canada's emergency doctors push to improve rate of "bystander" CPR assistance

Canadians who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital are three to four times more likely to survive if they receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). According to the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, such assistance is provided in only about one-quarter of cases. In a position statement on "bystander" CPR to be published in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, CAEP says it is not acceptable that vast numbers of witnessed cardiac arrest victims do not receive bystander CPR. More than 20,000 people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Canada each year, with 85 per cent of cases occurring in residential dwellings. Currently, less than 10 per cent of these people survive. Every Canadian should be trained in CPR and all Canadians should respond and provide chest compressions, with or without mouth-to-mouth ventilation, whether they are trained or not, CAEP says

Longer CPR not necessarily beneficial: study (Canada)

A huge Canadian-led study of cardiac arrest patients may lead to changes in international guidelines on how long CPR should be performed before paramedics or other emergency personnel check whether a defibrillator can restart the heart. The study of almost 10,000 cardiac arrest patients across North American has shown that extending the period of initial cardiopulmonary resuscitation from one minute to roughly three minutes provides no benefit. Principal investigator Ian Stiell, chairman of emergency medicine at Ottawa Hospital, said the finding resolves a worldwide controversy about how cardiac arrest should be dealt with in those first crucial minutes after a patient collapses.

Twenty-five people take it in turns to perform CPR for 1.5 hours to keep man who collapsed after heart attack alive (USA)

"A man who suffered a massive heart attack was alive and well today after being kept alive for an incredible 1.5 hours by passers-by who took it in turns to perform CPR. Howard Snitzer, 54, collapsed in the street when he suffered a potentially fatal cardiac arrest on his way to collect groceries on January 10. With a population of just 800 people and not a single traffic light in the town, his chances of survival looked bleak. But Snitzer was miraculously kept alive by dozens of good Samaritans who pumped his heart as he lay lifeless on the ground. The chef has now made an almost full recovery and is relaxing at his home in the back-water town of Goodhue, Minnesota"

Lifesaving lessons offered at Heathrow airport (UK)

Passengers travelling through Heathrow are being given the opportunity to take a five-minute lifesaving skills lesson. London Ambulance Service staff are offering to show members of the public and airport staff how to respond if they see someone suffering a cardiac arrest. The demonstration includes instruction on how to perform CPR and how to use a defibrillator, a machine that can deliver a shock to restart a patient's heart. The training is part of an initiative to provide defibrillators in public spaces which can be used by members of the public until emergency services arrive

Heart and Stroke Foundation stresses one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to resuscitation (Canada)

"New emergency care guidelines simplify performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and highlight the need for high-quality CPR by addressing some of the barriers to performing CPR. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, co-author of the 2010 Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC), released the guidelines October 18, 2010. The updated resuscitation guidelines have effectively mapped out a process of care based on the skill set of the rescuer, the situation and the resources available to respond. 'In the past we limited ourselves by making the approach to resuscitation the same across all types of patients, all types of settings, and all types of rescuers,' says Dr. Andrew Travers, chair of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada's policy advisory committee on resuscitation and one of the expert co-authors of the 2010 guidelines. 'We recognize that one size no longer fits all when it comes to CPR.' The new guidelines stress early recognition, urging people to call 9-1-1 or their local emergency number if they ever find someone collapsed and unresponsive, and not to delay by 'looking, listening and feeling' for breathing or pulse. They also recommend that instead of trying to remember how many compressions and how many breaths, bystanders doing CPR are urged simply to “push fast and push hard.'

Hands-only CPR most effective resuscitation method, study says

CPR may be more effective when it does not include mouth-to-mouth breathing, new research suggests. People who collapse from cardiac arrest and receive chest compressions from bystanders are more likely to survive than those given the traditional mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of American Medical Association. The study is based on more than 4,000 adults who suffered cardiac arrest between 2005 and 2009. Nearly 700 of those patients received conventional CPR from a bystander, while 849 received chest-only compressions; the rest received no CPR. Patients who received hands-only CPR had a 13.3 percent rate of survival, compared to 7.8 percent for those who received mouth-to-mouth CPR. Those who did not get CPR had a 5.2 percent survival rate. "Anyone who can put one hand over the other, lock their elbows and push hard and fast can save a life," said lead author Bentley J. Bobrow, a medical director for the bureau of emergency medical services and trauma system at the Arizona Department of Health Services

No CPR training? No problem! (USA)

To all you would-be good Samaritans out there: if someone looks like they're in need of mouth-to-mouth, but you don't have CPR training, call emergency services and they will guide you through it. Odds are, it won't hurt. That's according to a study published online in the journal Circulation. Study co-author Thomas Rea of King County's emergency services division said the survey came about because of an observation that bystanders were not performing CPR as frequently as they could have. "There's reticence and fear on the part of the bystander - and the dispatcher - that they may cause injury to the victim," Rea said in an interview - LA Times

Zoll Medical pumps out iPhone App for CPR training

Zoll Medical, a maker of cardiac defibrillators and other products for the critical care market, says that it has released a CPR training app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Does your child know what to do in an emergency?

"You've probably heard stories about kids calling 9-1-1 when they realized something was wrong with an adult family member. Those kids learned how to respond to emergencies - and so can your children. Thankfully, the Heart&Stroke CPR Anytime™ Family & Friends™ Personal Learning Program kit is available to teach your whole family how to recognize the signs of distress and respond accordingly. The $35 kit comes complete with a mannequin, a bilingual 22-minute instruction DVD and reference manual so that you can learn how to do CPR in the comfort of your own home. Not only does the kit give instructions on how to help an adult who is in cardiac arrest (not breathing, heart stopped beating) until emergency personnel arrive, but you can also learn how to give CPR to a child. Says Sandra Zambon, Manager, National CPR Anytime Program, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada: 'My 5-year-old son saw the DVD and does CPR on the mannequin and his older sister's dolls. Although, he may not be doing the chest compressions as deeply as required, he knows what to do and to call 9-1-1.' More reasons why you should consider investing in a kit:

* 80% of cardiac arrests occur at home and in public places.
* 35% to 55% of cardiac arrests are witnessed by a bystander - usually a family member or friend.
* Less than 5% of people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.
* Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more people would reach the hospital alive and more lives could be saved" Heart and Stroke Foundation

Less than 1 in 3 Toronto bystanders who witness a cardiac arrest try to help: Study

"Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital working in conjunction with EMS services, paramedics and fire services across Ontario found that a bystander who attempts cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can quadruple the survival rate to over 50 per cent. But Dr. Laurie Morrison and the research team at Rescu have found only 30 per cent of bystanders in Toronto are willing to help, one of the lowest rates of bystanders helping others in the developed world."

What's keeping you from learning CPR? (Canada)

"Picture this: You're at home or at work, and someone you know - your grandfather or your co-worker - suddenly collapses. You realize that he has stopped breathing and his heart has stopped beating. In other words, he is in cardiac arrest, a serious medical emergency. Would you know what to do? Given the fact that 80% of the approximately 40,000 cardiac arrests in Canada occur at home or in public places, you may be faced with this very real scenario. In fact, 35% to 55% of cardiac arrests are witnessed by a family member, co-worker or friend. When a person is in cardiac arrest, seconds count. The first thing anyone should do is call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number. If CPR is performed, the likelihood of someone surviving until emergency personnel arrive is 30%. CPR used in combination with an Automated External Defibrillator increases survival rates to 50% or more." - Heart and Stroke Foundation

Vigorous CPR is best for cardiac arrest

Vigorous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with more chest compressions on people with sudden cardiac arrest can improve the survival rate, a new study shows. "Chest compressions move blood with oxygen to the heart and the brain to save the brain and prepare the heart to start up its own rhythm when a shock is delivered with a defibrillator," says study researcher Jim Christenson, MD, of the University of British Columbia. "We found that even short pauses in chest compressions were quite detrimental." In the new study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed data from 78 emergency medical services agencies to determine the effect of chest compressions on patient outcome. They specifically looked at something called the "chest compression fraction" (CCF), which refers to the percentage of time spent performing chest compressions relative to the entire time that CPR is performed - WebMD