Several recent studies have repeatedly shown that it is more essential to keep the blood circulating through the body in case of a cardiac arrest than providing mouth to mouth resuscitation. The traditional form of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) taught to millions of health professionals all over the world have been altered by the American Heart Association (AHA). Earlier, the ABCs or Airway, Breathing and Chest Compressions were the order in which the CPR was administered. The studies now reveal that going directly to the third step i.e. the chest compressions yield the best results. The public health officials are hoping that by avoiding the mouth to mouth resuscitation, more people will be willing to give CPR to strangers. The heart association had started advocating only chest compressions among untrained bystanders with the belief that any CPR was better than nothing at all.
Dr. Ed Kersh, chief of cardiology at California Pacific Medical Center’s St. Luke’s campus says that now studies show that mouth to mouth is not necessary at all. It is more important to keep the blood circulating among the vital organs. The body usually has enough inbuilt oxygen to make breathing a secondary concern when compared to circulating the oxygenated blood. The traditional form of CPR wastes precious seconds clearing the airway and providing breaths before starting the chest compressions.
In the revised version now recommended by the AHA, more vigorous compressions at a faster rate is followed. The newly released guidelines say that the rescuer should do 100 compressions per minute as compared to 70-80 in the older version. It is also necessary to push the sternum at least 2 inches down to create enough push for the blood to flow.
Several recent studies have shown that patients receiving only cardiac compression fared the same if not better when compared to victims receiving both mouth to mouth resuscitation and cardiac compression.
