...and another save

I changed the type to bold in a few interesting places in the story below.

1. First, it might have been true that he didn't feel dizzy, but it's also possible that he doesn't remember.
2. CPR machines are becoming more and more popular. They do a good job, if you can manually continue CPR while the patient is being put on the machine. Interrupting CPR results in lack of blood flow to the brain for whatever time you stop PLUS the time it takes for the first 3 to 8 compressions to get the brain perfusion restored.

Bob

Here's the story:

___________________________________

PORT CHESTER — Jose Estrada could have died on a track at Port Chester High School this summer if White Plains native David Rich and a local emergency medical services team hadn't performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him.

"God protected me and put all these pieces together to keep me alive," Estrada said. "All these people and equipment came together to keep me alive."

Estrada, 56, a married father of two in Port Chester, was getting ready to run June 15 when he suddenly collapsed.

"I walked maybe 200 meters and everything went black," he said. "I didn't have any symptoms and didn't feel dizzy or any pain."

Rich, a Norwalk, Conn., resident who grew up in White Plains, was at the high school getting ready for a softball game by throwing a ball around with his son. All of a sudden, he heard screaming coming from the track.

"I looked over and saw someone face down in the grass area," Rich said. "I ran over there, hurdled over the fence and saw he wasn't breathing and had no circulation. I turned him over, did my quick assessment, and basically I was on autopilot. With no CPR, he would unfortunately not have made it."

Rich told someone to call 911 and continued to perform CPR until a Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook EMS team arrived.

Rich, who teaches health at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, said it's not the first time he's had to perform CPR on someone.

"I'm CPR-certified, and it seems like every time I have to renew my certification, I have to use my skills," he said. "The running joke is, 'Stay away from Dave when he gets recertified because he might have to use it on you.'"

EMS Capt. Jeffrey Casas said Estrada was suffering from ventricular fibrillation, when the heart beats chaotically and will collapse if not addressed immediately.

"It's considered a lethal rhythm, and essentially, he was dead," Casas said.

The EMS crew took over from Rich and did CPR using a new machine the department bought that does chest compressions on its own. They rushed Estrada to Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital where doctors put him in a medically-induced coma. He woke up two days later.

"I woke up and asked, 'What am I doing here?'" he said. "I didn't know what happened, but quickly, I learned that God protected me."

Estrada is an active runner and said doctors have deemed him in good health. He said doctors haven't been able to explain what triggered his heart problem that day.

After the incident, Estrada, who works as a plant manager for a manufacturing company in Blauvelt, found Rich and thanked him by attending one of his softball games.

"I'm sure it took him a lot of courage to contact me because he doesn't owe me anything," Rich said. "It felt good, though, to get closure; to really know that he's doing well."

He said helping save Estrada's life reminds him "how precious life is" and how everyone should get basic emergency training.

Boy, 9, does CPR to save 2-year-old brother

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • AUGUST 21, 2010

JOLIET, Ill. - A 9-year-old suburban Chicago boy insists he's not a hero after saving the life of his 2-year-old brother who'd fallen into the family's pool.

Logan Hearn of Joliet used the live-saving skills he learned in a junior lifeguard course to revive his brother Brendan.

The boys' mother, Tabitha Hearn, says she had a sick feeling when she noticed Brendan was missing this week and immediately checked the pool.

The toddler was floating face down and was unresponsive.

She started CPR but was too upset to get far. That's when Logan pushed her aside and took over.

He performed CPR and got his little brother to start breathing again.

Brendan is recovering after a night in the hospital.

The family has taken down the pool.

Common excuses for not learning CPR

Not being current with your CPR skills is quite similar to playing Russian Roulette, but with the weapon pointed at the head of a family member or friend.

Here are the most common rebuttals we hear when recruiting people for CPR class:

I took CPR four years ago & I remember how to do it.

• First of all, CPR keeps changing as we learn more about successes. We're not questioning your memory. Second, you will also learn how to use an AED, how to safely do the Heimlich maneuver, and how to recognize when someone is having a stroke.

I can't do CPR. I can't get down on the ground. I have bad (or artificial) knees (or hips)

• Yes, you can. There is a special way we can show you. Come to class.

I can't do CPR. I have terrible arthritis in my hands / wrist?

• Yes, you can. There is a special way we can show you. Come to class.

I'm afraid I will catch AIDS.

• You can do CPR reliably without worrying about catching AIDS. Come to class.

If I'm trained and don't do anything when I see someone collapse I'll be liable.

• SLICC doesn't give law advice, but we are confident that your attorney will confirm that (a) you don't incur a duty to respond and thus a duty to act just by getting trained, and (b) there are "good samaritan laws" that protect passers-by who act with good intentions and without compensation, when you act within the scope of your training.

I'm afraid I might do CPR on a person who doesn't need it.

• The patient will usually let you know before you get too far. If someone is not responsive and is not breathing normally, it's time to pump that chest.

I'm afraid I might hurt the person on whom I'm doing CPR.

• The person who needs CPR is already dead. What you do will either not make a difference, or it will save that person's life. You can't make a dead person worse off, unless you push on the very bottom of the breast bone..

I'm afraid I might break a (patient's) rib or something.

• Even if you're doing CPR properly, you will eventually find a patient whose ribs will become broken or 'snapped off' the cartilege. If you were the patient, which would you prefer: dead with all ribs intact? ...or alive with some rib damage?

I hate to be crass, but I can imagine encountering someone on whom I'm willing to do chest compressions, but don't count on me to administer any rescue breaths. Will just pumping the chest help by itself.

• Yes. If you don't think you can do something safely, don't do it. In fact, compression-only CPR has been shown to be better for the victim than full CPR in the case of witnessed adult cardiac arrests. Just make sure that you've got the head tilted and the chin lifted before you start the chest compressions so that your compressions can provide some respiratory benefit.

Dog prevents CPR. Woman dies.

Pit bull guarded Washington woman who had heart attack

(AP) – 12 hours ago

BREMERTON, Wash. — Police in the Washington state city of Bremerton say a pit bull reported as a menacing dog was just protecting its owner who had suffered a heart attack and died on a sidewalk while the two were out walking.

A detective says the 51-year-old Bremerton woman collapsed late Tuesday. The dog was loose once she fell and was being "protectively aggressive" — not letting neighbors help its owner. No one was bitten.

A policeman flagged down to deal with the dog saw the woman lying on the sidewalk. He shot the dog with a stun gun, then he and a neighbor performed CPR until a rescue crew arrived and also tried unsuccessfully to revive the woman.

The Kitsap Sun reports that when the dog ran home, the woman's roommate came looking for her.

Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/

It really does work

Howard Lake man is living proof of hands-only CPR success
	Aug. 16, 2010 Share
	By Starrla Cray Staff Writer

HOWARD LAKE, MN – No one has to convince Donnie Drusch of

Howard Lake that hands-only CPR is a lifesaver.

“That’s the reason I’m standing here today,” he said.

Statistically speaking, Drusch shouldn’t have survived when his heart stopped beating last spring.

“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) affects 300,000 people each year, and the chances of survival are dismal,” according to Charles Lick, MD, emergency medical director for Allina and Buffalo hospitals.

Unless victims are provided with adequate aid in a timely fashion – ideally CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and a shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED) in the first three to five minutes – SCA is 100 percent fatal.

However, the average response time for paramedics is eight to 10 minutes, a Wright County Public Health news release stated.

Thankfully, in Drusch’s case, help was not far away.

“I was fertilizing my yard,” he recalled. Drusch, who lives near St. James Lutheran School in Howard Lake, said that a group of students was outside near the tennis courts at the time.

Two teachers saw Drusch go into cardiac arrest.

“The girls who called it in said I went backwards and then fell forward on my head,” he said.

As for his own memory of the experience, Drusch said, “I don’t remember a thing.”

Drusch’s grandson, Jacob Drusch, remembers the incident quite well, however.

Jacob, who is on the Howard Lake Fire Department, was on his way to a different call when he heard that a man had collapsed.

“We didn’t really know what was going on at first,” he said. Because this situation was more urgent than the original call, the fire department went straight to Drusch’s house.

“We zipped across town, and we were there in 30 seconds,” Jacob said. “We transferred the other call to Cokato Ambulance.”

Jacob performed hands-only CPR for a little while on his grandfather, but Drusch’s nephew, Pete Drusch, was the main rescue person. Pete is also a member of the Howard Lake Fire Department.

“We credit him with cracking a few of my ribs,” Drusch said with a grin.

Drusch said he is extremely thankful to be alive today.

“The good Lord and these guys are responsible for that,” he said.

Drusch said he feels it is vitally important to support local emergency services.

“When they have raffles to buy new equipment, get out there and help them,” he said.

Wright County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is currently working with Take Heart Minnesota of Wright County to teach 10 percent of Wright County residents how to do CPR.

At the Wright County Fair this year, Lick and Kevin Sipprell (medical director of Ridgeview Ambulance and Howard Lake Ambulance) demonstrated the technique, and answered questions from the audience.

“The more we can get the message out, the better,” Sipprell said. “We’re more likely to save some lives.”

Lick stressed the importance of three actions people should take if someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest.

“First, call 911. Then, start CPR. And third, find an AED, if possible,” Lick said. An AED is a simple-to-use device that can restart the rhythm of the heart.

“When you turn it on, a voice comes on, telling you what to do,” Lick said. Nearly 70 AEDs have been placed in or around Wright County, according to Allina Hospital.

In Howard Lake, AEDs are in several spots, including the fire department, police department, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School, HLWW Middle School, and St. James Lutheran School/Church, among other locations.

CPR is performed by pushing down with two hands on the patient’s chest, in between their nipples. Pressure should be applied firmly and quickly, in order to keep blood flowing throughout the body.

“CPR has gotten really easy,” Lick said. “If you can push down hard and fast – 100 times per minute – you can do it.”

In order to get the timing right, Lick suggested pressing down to the beat of the disco song “Stayin’ Alive.”

Hands-only CPR (without rescue breathing) is easier to remember and results in a greater number of chest compressions, with fewer interruptions.

“This is a good skill for all of us to learn,” Lick said. If a person has gone into cardiac arrest, CPR should be performed immediately and continuously until the ambulance arrives.

“In the two communities where we’ve implemented this, we’ve been able to greatly improve the chances of survival,” Lick said, explaining that survival rates in the City of St. Cloud and Anoka County went from 8.5 percent to 19 percent.

During the Wright County Fair presentation, many people had questions relating to CPR.

“What should be done if the person starts breathing?” someone asked.

Sometimes a person in cardiac arrest will start to breath with a snoring sound, Lick said.

“That’s not normal breathing,” he said. “They’re still in cardiac arrest. If you’re unsure, keep doing CPR. You can’t hurt someone worse by doing it.”

A mother asked what do if the victim is a child.

“Fortunately, kids very rarely go into cardiac arrest,” Lick said. Most of the time when children need CPR, it is because of a blocked airway, and rescue breathing can still be done.

Another person asked about drowning victims. Lick said in that case, it is beneficial to do conventional CPR, but if a person is uncomfortable with it or unsure what to do, hands-only CPR is still better than nothing.

When an audience member asked where CPR should be performed, Lick said that a firm surface is best, because it makes chest compressions more effective.

One man asked what to do if the victim recently had open-heart surgery.

“Even if they’ve had their breastbone cut and bound together with wire, the chest compressions shouldn’t hurt it,” Lick said. “If you don’t do it, it’s a higher chance they will die. You can’t screw up by doing this.”

Wright County EMS is joining Take Heart America to improve SCA survival rates in Wright County through AED distribution and CPR training.

For more information about Take Heart America, go to www.takeheartminnesota.org.

“Help us save some lives in Wright County,” Lick said.

The SLICC class video

The address for the online class video has changed. It is now located at...

http://www.slicc.org/ClassVideo/100412_CVschh.mp4

...and if your CPR is a bit rusty, or if you're not clear about how to work an automated defibrillator, or if you want to review how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, or if you want to brush up on how to recognize a stroke, download it and watch it. It's only about 40 minutes.

Bob

I need your help, please...

There's a short, new video at the top of http://www.SLICC.org - Please ask your family & friends to watch it and pass it on to their friends. We really need a lot of votes in October, and that video is one of the ways we're trying to recruit voters.

Many thanks in advance.

Bob

(If you've signed up here as a public follower, you'll automatically get the info at the end of September)