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Would you know what to do if faced with someone who has had a cardiac arrest?
by Dr Carl Gwinnutt FRCA E
ach year, 60,000 people collapse and suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital; their heart stops beating and within a few seconds they stop
breathing. This is one of the most urgent medical sit- uations requiring intervention, but that intervention does not have to be by medically trained individuals. Ordinary members of the public who are trained to perform cardi- opulmonary resuscitation or CPR and use a defibrillator (also called AEDs) can have a major impact. Currently in the UK, less than 1 in 10 of these individuals survive, but if you call 999, start CPR, retrieve and use an AED this can more than treble an individual’s chance of survival.
So why do people not perform these life-saving skills? The answers given most often are ‘I didn’t know what to do and thought I might make things worse’ and ‘I haven’t been shown how to use an AED’. In order to try and rectify this situation, the Heartstart Team of Kingsbridge Estuary Rotary club have trained over 1700 local people over the past 10 year on how to perform CPR and use an AED. Most of those attending admit initially that they would not know how to perform CPR or use an AED but at the end of the 2-hour training session, almost everyone will say they would now carry out CPR and more importantly, retrieve and use an AED. Most people simply hadn’t realised how ‘smart and safe’ these devices are – you can’t cause any harm using one because it will only let you ‘defibrillate’ (deliver an electric shock) if the victim absolutely needs one and, after all, this is the only medical treatment for someone in cardiac arrest. You can find out more about the Heartstart training by visiting the Rotary website:
www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=251530&- ClubID=1581
Another initiative to increase the numbers of people, especially children, trained in CPR and awareness of AEDs is Restart a Heart Day. This is an annual event organised by the Resuscitation Council (UK), in conjunc- tion with the British Heart Foundation, St John Ambu- lance, the British Red Cross, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and Yorkshire Ambulance Service. It brings together schools, charities, the emergency services and
Members of the KERC Heartstart Team in action.
volunteers on and around 16 October to teach CPR. In 2018, over 230,000 people were trained in the UK. This year is the 6th
a Heart campaign and the 2nd
annual World Restart a
Heart (WRSAH) campaign. An alliance of organisations all over the world will be coming together to increase public awareness of cardiac arrest and increase the num-
“Most people simply hadn’t realised how ‘smart and safe’ these devices are”
ber of people trained in CPR by organising and facilitating training events. If you would like more information on how to participate in this event contact South Western Ambulance Service (SWAS) at: engage-
ment@swast.nhs.uk
Finally, if you’d just like to sit at home and learn more, check out the Resuscitation Council (UK)’s free app, Lifesaver (
https://lifesaver.org.uk). This is an interactive ‘game’ where you will
see the skills of CPR demonstrated but you have to make decisions and learn how to manage life-threatening emergencies. There is now also a VR version which puts you into the heart of the action as three young people face life-or-death situations. You control their move- ments as you make critical decisions and learn essential life-saving skills.
Restart a Heart Day - October 16th
annual Restart
Students and members of the KERC Heartstart Team, Restart a Heart Day October 2018
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