|
What is the purpose of CPR? Why even do it? I’ve never been able to bring someone back. So much effort with such little success. These questions were presented to me at a recent training I was hosting for the local Police Department for the city I work for. I’m an EMT/Safety Officer for a local EMS department with multiple years in the EMS field. The questions above were some of the ones I was confronted with often during my classes. This particular instance stands out in my mind because it was a 13 year veteran police officer. He sat at the front of the class and proceeded to say, “I’ve worked many codes and performed CPR on 12 people during my career. I’m 0-12 when it comes to CPR”. “What’s the point?” I replied, “Maybe you have not been taught properly”… “However I’m going to teach you now and you will be great at it”. We continued with the class and moved on to other training. That same month I was working on shift with the EMS department and found myself requesting back up from PD (Police Department) for a lift assist. It just so happened that the same officer who asked me about the purpose of doing CPR happens to show up! While moving the patient from the back room to the stretcher in the living room, the patient stopped breathing. I immediately started CPR and we headed to the hospital. At the Emergency departments bay entrance I could see that the officers had gathered to assist. I began to have them alternate with compressions while we continued with resuscitative measures. The patient was shocked a total of 3 times with the Automated External Defibrillator. We continued alternating with the police officers on the chest compressions and after some time we got the patent back. I was so proud to have the guys I taught actually work a code with us and get the patient back. I was so happy they had been a part of this call. So, what is the purpose of CPR? If you think like me, you have a mechanically inclined mind. I worked in the west Texas oilfields as a Drilling Rig mechanic for about 10 years before I moved over to EMS. What I found out during this time was that if I understood “How” the machine did its work, it made it easier for me to figure out how to fix it. The human body can be compared to the most marvelous machine ever designed. It works much like a conventional machine would. It has multiple parts that have to come together and work perfectly in unison for an end objective. This is how I like to explain CPR. CPR is the process of helping the circulatory system do its job at the moment when it can no longer do it on its own. The heart is like a pump. If this pump is not working efficiently you began to get back flow or not enough pumping action to circulate the fluid, in this case, the blood. So, back to the original question. What is the purpose of CPR? To circulate oxygenated blood to the brain. That is the whole point of doing this process. If our brain is not working properly, we just have a living body, a shell that cannot perform any work unless it’s told to by the brain. If the brain is dead because of lack of oxygen. Then there is no purpose to your body. Watch live CPR being performed here http://ttcsafety.com/Videos.php This is the reason why it is essential during CPR that the person is laying on a flat hard surface. If you have proper chest recoil on the chest when compressing it allows for more efficient blood circulating to the heart, then to the circulatory system and finally to the brain. This is what it’s all about! Keeping that oxygen rich blood going to our extremely oxygen sensitive brain. If done properly this will maximize our possibilities of bringing patients back. Now having said that. If you do this properly will this ensure you always get a positive outcome? Absolutely not. Many factors are involved in working a patient in cardiac arrest. Some are completely out of our reach for emergency medicine and to you as a first responder. However time is the most important when dealing with this situation. Time, as in how long the circulatory system has been inactive and not providing the brain with the oxygen needed to live. So What Is The Purpose of CPR? It’s to Oxygenate the brain before it dies from O2 starvation. Remember this is why it’s imperative that the patient be laying in a flat surface. Also keep in mind that when compressing on the chest. You must allow for proper recoil of the chest as you’re coming up on your compressions. It’s important to make your compressions as efficient as possible. With a continuous depth of 2 inches for an adult. For more information on CPR procedures or if you would be interested in becoming a CPR Instructor in your community follow the link. http://ttcsafety.com/CPR_Instructor_Course.html
Related Articles -
CPR, how to, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, Compression, revive, safe a life,
|
