Final Project

Example

23 June 2020

Word Count: 922

Part 1: Why They Need You

People die. Everyday someone dies of cardiac arrest. In order to increase the survival rate of the victims of cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) must be initiated immediately. This problem affects everyone from the community to employees in the workplace and medical professionals. Victims of cardiac arrest outside of the hospital are dying because bystanders are not initiating CPR immediately.

Cardiac arrest is a serious condition that results in death if not treated. When someone goes into cardiac arrest their heart stops beating which stops the blood flow to the essential organs of the body. Without the restoration of blood, the organs will die in minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) can restart the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. CPR physically pumps the heart to maintain blood flow while using an AED will shock the heart to normalize the electrical rhythm. These are simple skills that anybody can do if they are given the opportunity to learn them. In order to improve the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims in the out-of-hospital setting, CPR and AED training should be available and enforced in every professional setting. This training has the possibility of saving many lives and should be taken advantage of.

Part 2: How You Can Help

In the United States of America, 475,000 American’s die of cardiac arrest each year with more than 530,000 occurring outside of the hospital (“CPR Facts and Stats”). A study done in Germany shows that 49.4% of cardiac arrests were witnessed by a bystander, but only 1.3% attempted CPR. Cardiac arrest is a very serious condition that requires immediate action to save the patient’s life. It is said that “survival decreases by 7-10% each minute without CPR” (Anto-Ocrah et al.). To increase the chances of survival, CPR and the use of an AED must be initiated by a bystander until emergency medical services (EMS). The EMS personnel are trained to perform high-quality CPR, as well as, other advanced techniques to revive a patient in cardiac arrest, but their response time is approximately 8 minutes (Neukamm et al.).

911 dispatchers are trained to diagnose cardiac arrest over the phone and give witnesses CPR instructions until emergency medical services (EMS) arrives on the scene. When calling 911 a dispatcher will ask a serious of questions to determine whether or not the person in question is actually in cardiac arrest. If the person is in cardiac arrest and the caller does not know how to perform CPR, the dispatcher will give instructions on how to resuscitate the patient. A study done in Canada determined that “CPR instructions were appropriate and possible in only 30% to 37% of all confirmed cardiac arrest cases” (Vaillancourt et al.). This study shows that although “the majority of callers were emotionally capable of following instructions [ 75 ,  80 ,  81 ], the telephone was not in close range of the victim as often as 50% of the time” (Vaillancourt et al.). It was also determined that ventilation instructions added an extra 1.4 minutes to complete, resulting in a delayed time of chest compressions. This study shows how significant it is for bystanders to understand when and how to give CPR. While it is still crucial to call 911 when there is a cardiac arrest incident, taking the initiative to start chest compressions will result in a better chance of survival for the patient rather than waiting for the 911 dispatcher to teach CPR over the phone.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is a “worldwide leader in first aid, CPR, and AED training” (“CPR Facts and Stats” ). This organization works towards educating and providing resources for anybody to receive training on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). The AHA states that 55% of employees cannot get first aid or CPR and AED training from their workplace. To save more cardiac arrest patients that are outside of the hospital, everyone needs to be trained on how to recognize cardiac arrest, how to perform CPR, and how to use an AED. The AHA offers CPR and AED classes that can be taken by anybody. Learning this simple skill can save thousands of lives.

One obstacle in implementing this training in every situation is the cost of the initial training and recertification courses. The most efficient way to learn how to give CPR is with in-person instruction. Scheduling and paying for small groups in the workplace to get certified will cost approximately $40 per person that businesses and companies are currently not paying for (National CPR Foundation). The American Red Cross offers adult and pediatric first aid, CPR, and AED training for approximately $120 (American Red Cross).

An alternative to CPR and AED courses is taking the online portion of the class. In contrast to the in-person only courses, the hybrid class of both online and in-classroom instruction ranges from $80-$120 (American Red Cross). While the price difference between these two class formats is not substantial, the skills and lessons learned are. The online courses offered, teach the same material as the in-person classes, however, students do not get the hands-on practice and experience that will qualify them for the field. It is said that “with newer communication technologies, telemedicine such as real-time video may be helpful in BLS and chest compression” (Yuksen et al.). However, giving another human being chest compressions is a terrifying thing in itself. Not knowing how hard and how fast to push when a real emergency happens can cost someone their life.

References

American Red Cross. (n.d.). Search: Classes, Products, Articles. Retrieved June 22, 2020, from https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr?prefn1=CourseDates&prefmin1=1592816681206&prefn2=CourseFormat&prefv2=Classroom&zip=Fairfax Station, VA&latitude=38.8015452&longitude=-77.3254485&searchtype=class&classfocus=cpr-adult-pediatric-focus

Anto-Ocrah, M., Maxwell, N., Cushman, J. et al. Public knowledge and attitudes towards bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in Ghana, West Africa. Int J Emerg Med 13, 29 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-020-00286-w

“CPR Facts and Stats” Cpr.heart.org, 2020, cpr.heart.org/en/resources/cpr-facts-and-stats.

National CPR Foundation. (2018, April 24). How Much Does a CPR Class Cost? Retrieved from https://www.nationalcprfoundation.com/how-much-does-a-cpr-class-cost/#:~:text=Below is the average cost,$45-$55 per person.

Neukamm, J., Gräsner, J., Schewe, J. et al. The impact of response time reliability on CPR incidence and resuscitation success: a benchmark study from the German Resuscitation Registry. Crit Care 15, R282 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/cc10566

Vaillancourt, C., Charette, M.L., Stiell, I.G. et al. An evaluation of 9-1-1 calls to assess the effectiveness of dispatch-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions: design and methodology. BMC Emerg Med 8, 12 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-227X-8-12

Yuksen, C., Sawatmongkornkul, S., Tuangsirisup, J. et al. The CPR outcomes of online medical video instruction versus on-scene medical instruction using simulated cardiac arrest stations. BMC Emerg Med 16, 25 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-016-0092-3