Takoma Park CPR

03/15/2023

Are you prepared like this young athlete’s mom?

https://www.wral.com/17-year-old-cheerleader-goes-into-cardiac-arrest-during-warm-up-at-raleigh-high-school/20762153/ 17-year-old cheerleader goes into cardiac arrest during warm-up at Raleigh high school

A 17-year-old Harnett County cheerleader is recovering at Duke Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest during a recent competition.

10/27/2021

A surprising new study published in the journal Anesthesia suggests that bag-valve mask ventilation (first responders’ and clinicians’ method of rescue breathing) is not as hazardous to rescuers, as a COVID vector, as previously suspected.

10/05/2021

The Maryland Institute for EMS Systems published important data about bystander CPR and AED use nationwide. Of people who go into cardiac arrest outside a clinical setting, just over 40% get bystander CPR; not counting cases that occur in private homes, only 9% get bystander AED treatment.

Those are not good numbers.

In most cases, bystander action before EMS arrives will determine whether the patient survives — whether they get to go home from the hospital. Bystanders, not EMS.

Please remember you can't make the situation any worse by trying -- you can only make it worse by not trying. You CANNOT get in legal trouble by trying. You DO NOT need a card. You don't even need formal training, though of course training makes you more confident and more likely to be effective. But the most important thing by far is: don't just stand there and wait for someone else to help. This is a moment, and a human being, in need of YOU.

08/15/2021

This stuff works. Especially when it’s given immediately, without waiting for EMS.

A boy who was given CPR after he was found in a pool at the Six Flags America amusement park in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Saturday afternoon, is now in stable condition.

04/19/2021

Yes, we’re sharing a competitor’s ad, because it’s an important short article about unconscious sexism in bystander CPR. Remember, the outcome of a sudden cardiac arrest is usually determined *before* EMS shows up — by the presence or absence of immediate bystander CPR.

https://www.procpr.org/blog/training/cpr-women-v-men?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Single&utm_campaign=articles&utm_content=women_men&fbclid=IwAR2ZkzQWV700TqIlMWHI2Wx6CZN2I4fEDMVFQRJpwvZ0i_snctQqYoMk0s8

Both men and women may experience cardiac events requiring CPR. However, research shows a gap when it comes to equitable performance of CPR on men versus women. At the American Heart Association’s Scientific Session in November 2017, global researchers and clinicians shared data that showed men we...

11/26/2020

Last August, in D.C., a 25yo jogger named Michael Fontaine collapsed in sudden cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by bystander CPR and advanced care from DCFD EMS. Today, he and his family are donating their time and $7,000 they raised to deliver a turkey to every firehouse in the District of Columbia.

11/17/2020

Highlights of the new 2020 American Heart Association guidelines for CPR & Emergency Cardiac Care:

- Recovery support has been recognized as the sixth link in the Chain of Survival (all patient populations).

- Never hesitate to start chest compressions on a pregnant cardiac arrest patient.

- Solo rescuers may use the 2-thumbs hand-encircling technique for infant compressions.

- Ventilation rate for an intubated child/infant, or a child/infant who has a pulse but is not breathing, is 1 breath every 2-3 seconds.

- Feedback devices such as metronomes and depth sensors result in a 25% higher survival rate (“survival” defined as hospital discharge). In the absence of feedback devices, realtime peer coaching from another rescuer is the next best thing.

- Rescue team debriefings are strongly recommended.

- The mnemonic “FAST” has been recognized as an aid to stroke awareness (Facial droop, Arm weakness, Speech defects, Time since onset of symptoms).

- All rescuers should encourage conscious adults with chest pain to chew and swallow an uncoated aspirin while waiting for EMS unless (a) the patient has an allergy or doctor’s orders not to take aspirin or (b) the chest pain is due to an injury.

- All rescuers should administer Narcan if there are signs of an opioid overdose, but do not delay starting CPR to give Narcan.

The AHA is rolling out an alternative approach to CPR refresher training called Resuscitation Quality Improvement. Under this method, trained CPR providers will be able to take brief refresher exercises every quarter instead of a full-length refresher course every two years. Details will be available in early 2021.

11/14/2020

This is a great Veterans Day story, but remember, you don’t have to be a cardiac nurse to be this kind of hero.

Hollyanne Milley, a cardiac nurse who is married to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, gave lifesaving CPR to a veteran attending Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

06/13/2017

Today a child in Hillandale, MD was revived from cardiac arrest by BYSTANDER CPR and BYSTANDER defibrillation, after drowning in a pool and BEFORE EMS arrived. That's the whole point.

12/18/2016

Every CPR class includes the Heimlich maneuver, a simple, effective treatment for "foreign body airway obstruction" (choking). Each of the countless lives saved by this technique is to the credit of Dr. Henry Heimlich, who died yesterday at the age of 96, not long after saving a neighbor's life using the Heimlich maneuver.

07/01/2016

In Montgomery County, the police now dispatch officers on all cardiac arrests dispatched by fire/EMS as police priority calls. So far, just this month, fire/EMS crews have arrived on scene of seven cardiac arrest calls where the police were already performing CPR. This should be a national model. Early CPR saves lives, and earlier CPR saves more lives.