Cardiac Arrest Less Deadly in Exercise Facilities, Study Finds

50% of victims survived, compared with 36% in other indoor public places
Posted: May 5, 2011

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- You stand a better chance of survival if your heart stops beating while you're in an exercise facility than if you're in another type of indoor public place, a new study found.


Overall, 50 percent of cardiac arrest victims survived if the attack occurred in a public place where some sort of exercise was happening, whereas only 36 percent of those who experienced cardiac arrest in other indoor public places survived. Exercise facilities included places traditionally thought of, such as gyms and fitness clubs, as well as places considered alternative exercise venues, such as bowling alleys and dance studios.

"Survival from sudden cardiac arrest with prompt resuscitation can really be quite high at exercise facilities," said lead researcher Dr. Richard L. Page, a cardiac electrophysiologist and chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin. "That relates to the fact that people are healthier, they're feeling fit enough to go exercise, and they had a higher likelihood of CPR."

"We shouldn't just be deploying [automated external defibrillators] at fitness clubs," Page said. "We ought to consider less traditional exercise facilities as having patients at risk who could benefit from prompt resuscitation."

Though it's often confused with heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest is actually a different phenomenon.

Heart attack is a "plumbing problem," Page said. A blockage in the vessels of the heart cuts off blood flow, and part of the heart muscle dies. In some cases, a cardiac arrest can also occur.

Sudden cardiac arrest, Page explained, is caused by a disruption in the heart's electrical system. "You're unconscious within seconds and you're dead in 10 minutes if you don't get CPR and a defibrillation," he said. "The chance of survival is only a couple percent if you can't get immediate attention."

The goal of defibrillation is to reset the heart so it will return to a normal rhythm.

In their research, Page and his colleagues studied where cardiac arrests occurred in the Seattle area -- in indoor public places only -- between 1996 and 2008. They found 960 cases, 150 of which occurred at exercise facilities.

In the exercise facilities, 90 percent of the victims were men, 77 percent got CPR, 16 percent were treated with an automatic defibrillator machine and 50 percent survived.

Elsewhere in indoor public places, 75 percent of victims were men, 55 percent got CPR, 7 percent were treated with an automatic defibrillator machine and 36 percent survived.

At the exercise facilities, researchers found that 16 percent of the cardiac arrest sufferers were playing basketball, 9 percent were dancing, 9 percent "working out," 8 percent were on a treadmill and 8 percent each were playing tennis, bowling, swimming or weight lifting.

Though exercise is good for you overall, it does raise the risk for cardiac arrest, said Page, former president of the Heart Rhythm Society.

When asked why bowling alleys have so many cases of cardiac arrest, considering that bowling isn't a high-impact form of exercise, Page said the answer might lie in the fitness of bowlers and the atmosphere at a bowling alley, where people may be drinking alcohol.

He suggested that automatic defibrillators, which are often required in certain public places, should be placed in bowling alley s and dance studios, too. The machines typically cost $2,000 to $3,000.

Dr. Byron K. Lee, director of the electrophysiology laboratories and clinics at the University of California, San Francisco, said that though the study was interesting, it did not say whether the various physical activities boosted the risk for cardiac arrest over "baseline." Nor, he said, did it provide enough information to confirm whether the risk is high enough to warrant defibrillators in those places.

The study was to be presented Thursday in San Francisco at an annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society. Experts note that research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary because it has not been subjected to the rigorous scrutiny given to research published in medical journals.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on defibrillators.

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

High School Student Dies at Track Meet

EAU CLAIRE (WEAU) - A 16-year-old high school student has died during a track meet in eastern Wisconsin.

It happened about 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in Brillion at the middle school. Police say the student ran a short distance on the track when he collapsed. Staff at the school called 911, while students performed CPR, but he later died at a local hospital.

The school is now providing counseling for the students.

[Blogger's Note: It's really not clear whether the CPR performed was adequate or timely, and it's really not clear whether there was an AED at the track meet.]

It makes a huge difference

by STEVE ALBERTS / KVUE News
Bio | Email | Follow: Salberts@kvue.com
Posted on April 29, 2011 at 6:31 PM

Get well cards line the dining room table of Bob and Donna Herrick's home in Northwest Austin.
“It warms your heart to realize that people care that much,” said Donna Herrick.

Calls of concern keep pouring in for Bob. “I'm doing a lot better,” he said. “ I appreciate your call.”

On Thursday, April 28, Bob just finished washing windows at the Starbucks located at Anderson Lane and Rockwood in North Austin. He was walking to his van when he collapsed in the parking lot.

Lauren Jones, a former cardiac nurse, was inside. Jones and two other people, a Starbucks manager and another customer, rushed to help.

“Bob was not breathing,” explained Jones. “He was blue. He had no pulse. Carrie continued to give CPR and I relieved her.”
The women continued CPR until paramedics arrived.

“I continued to tell him, 'Donna [his wife] is coming, and she needs to see you,'” said Jones. “You need to stay with us.”
Jarrod Frame is one of the medics who responded to the call. He says every minute that passes without CPR reduces the victim's chances of survival.

“It's critical when we have bystander CPR,” said Frame. “It gives us a head start and gives the patient a much better outcome.”
Doctors say Herrick suffered from cardiac arrest -- the sudden or abrupt loss of heart function. It is not the same as a heart attack.

Herrick is 69 years old. His doctors have since installed a pace maker.
“With the implant I'll never have to worry of that ever happening again,” said Herrick.

For Donna Herrick the scare of losing her husband, her life partner, is beyond words. “There are no words that I can say that convey how much we appreciate what they did for myself and my family,” she said. “It makes me feel really good and especially during a time when people would just walk away or not get involved,” said Bob Herrick.

People -- total strangers -- did get involved. It was their quick thinking and kindness that helped save Bob's life.

He is being put on a strict exercise regimen. He will also help his wife run their window washing business from home.

3 teams, clear skies, then lightning

WOODTV.com - Grand Rapids
Updated: Thursday, 28 Apr 2011, 9:22 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 27 Apr 2011, 1:24 PM EDT

By Ken Kolker
PORTAGE, Mich. (WOOD) - The 20-year-old man struck by lightning in a Portage park Tuesday night is now listed in good condition at a local hospital, and sources told 24 Hour News 8 he would not have survived without a bystander giving him CPR.

Oscar Garcia was struck by lightning high up in his body -- likely in his head. The charge went through him, knocked his cleats off, dispersed through the ground and injured at least 11 other people. At one point, Garcia's heart stopped.

At the time the lightning hit at 6:50 p.m., witnesses told 24 Hour News 8 there were three soccer teams practicing -- two mens teams and an under-14 team -- at Westfield Park on West Milham Road.

Of the 12 people hurt, three were children. Seven were taken to a hospital by ambulance and five others sought treatment on their own.

The National Weather Service issued a thunderstorm warning at 6:04 p.m. Tuesday for Kalamazoo County. About 45 minutes later, while that warning was still in effect, the soccer field remained crowded with players.

"We were aware there were storms in the area," said Levi Butcher, a junior team coach. "We had just thought they had parted. We had no warning about it being issued a warning -- just a watch."

Witnesses saw a clear blue sky with dark clouds to the west. Then lightning, a short burst of hail and a double rainbow in the space of 10 minutes.

"We hear some, we see some, but it was far away," said Jesus Vargas, one of the injured men. "We see the lightning, but not where we was, because it wasn't even raining or anything. It was fine, and this one -- it just come like that, you know."

Firefighters said Wednesday this incident should serve as a warning about the dangers of lightning.

"This is just a tragic example of what happens when people are out in an exposed area when lightning strikes," said Randolph Lawton, the Portage fire chief.

I'm not sure what this means...

Has surviving a sudden cardiac arrest become so commonplace that the victim can be disappointed that she missed the concert?

_________________________________________________


At Lady Gaga concert in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday was marred by drama as an audience member suffered a cardiac arrest during the show.

Paramedics rushed to resuscitate Crystal Thornton, 33, after she collapsed during a performance by one Gaga's opening acts at the city's Bridgestone Arena.

Thornton's heart was restarted using a portable defibrillator and she was subsequently airlifted to hospital. She is now expected to make a full recovery.

A statement from doctors at the Vanderbilt Medical Center reads, "The patient received incredible care from the moment she experienced problems at the Bridgestone Arena. It is only through a coordinated team effort that her successful outcome was possible."

Meanwhile, Thornton has revealed she is disappointed to have missed seeing her idol perform, adding, "I am so mad I missed the concert."

9-year-old boy saves sister from drowning using CPR learned from television

By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times
April 19, 2011, 11:58 a.m.
A 9-year-old boy saved his drowning sister by administering CPR -- which, he says, he learned by watching television.

Tristin Saghin and his family were visiting his grandmother in Mesa, Ariz., when his grandmother and mother suddenly realized that the 2-year-old girl had gone missing. They ran outside and found her floating in the swimming pool. As his elders called for help, Tristin began performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth on the toddler, according to the ABC15 news report. "I knew what I was doing," he is reported to have said.

Can the boob tube truly serve as an unwitting educational tool for life-saving emergency medical procedures? Perhaps it's not as far-fetched as it sounds. Studies have shown that even if you don't have training, it can't hurt to try until the paramedics arrive.

CPR training typically takes the better part of a day, but the American Heart Assn. has a minute-long YouTube video that teaches hands-on CPR basics. The association has said that all secondary school students should be trained in CPR.

Unfortunately, they are not kidding. Don't think a CPR bill has a chance.

Antiscience bill passes Tennessee House vote

A bill clearly intended to promote and protect antiscience passed in the Tennessee State House yesterday, by a vote of 70 – 23.

Let that sink in. 70 to 23.

The bill is another in a long series of creationist (and broadened into other antiscience topics) wedge bills designed to weaken the teaching of real science in public schools. The summary makes that clear:

This bill prohibits the state board of education and any public elementary or secondary school governing authority, director of schools, school system administrator, or principal or administrator from prohibiting any teacher in a public school system of this state from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught, such as evolution and global warming.

On the surface this sounds like legit science; after all, science thrives on understanding the weaknesses in ideas so they can be improved. But if you read that last part, conservative antiscience rears its head: the two specific cases mentioned are evolution and global warming.

That doesn’t sound like real science is the motivation behind this bill — and reading quotes by its supporters confirms it. What this really means is that if a teacher wants to declare the Earth is 6000 years old (or make some other clearly wrong ideologically-based claim), that teacher cannot be stopped.

Similar antiscience bills (usually given the Orwellian title of "academic freedom bills") have been created in Oklahoma (though defeated, barely), Mississippi, and in Louisiana, where creationist and part-time exorcist Governor Bobby Jindal signed it into state law.

So this bill passed the House, but it still has to pass the Tennessee Senate. They have their own version up for vote targeted for April 20. If you live in Tennessee, I urge you to go to the NCSE website, read up on this, and then write your local representative.