The average survival in Spain from cardiac arrest is low. There are just over one in ten citizens who suffer from it, 11.4%, who manage to escape alive. One of the compelling reasons that prevents this low rate from improving is that there are also few, in fact less than half, family members and witnesses who try to resuscitate the patient while waiting for the arrival of the mobile ICU and emergency services. This is indicated by the specialists of the Spanish Council of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in an analysis carried out together with the Mapfre Foundation on the health problem that is the direct cause of some 45,000 deaths annually in Spain.
The public’s willingness to act in the event of cardiac arrest is essential if we take into account that six out of every ten episodes of this type occur outside of health centers, normally in the victim’s own home, and that every minute counts, and a lot, to save that life.
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Recognize if
the patient
has suffered a cardiac arrest
You have to get very close and check that not breathing: the chest does not move and air does not come out of the mouth or nose during 10 seconds
Notify the emergency number 112 first
We must explain to the operator that We are next to a patient who has lost consciousness and is not breathing. It is also necessary to describe our location specifically so that the ambulance can locate us quickly: exact address, kilometer point, etc.
Cardiac massage in adults
Cardiac massage is performed only with your hands:
Arms extendedwithout bending the elbows
Patient face up
on the floor
pace of 100-120 per minute
The chest has to descend five centimeters with each compression
It is advisable for several people to alternate to maintain a constant rhythm until emergency services arrive.
It is better that this phase be done someone trained:
It is necessary to check that the chest rises when receiving air
Source: Spanish Society
of Cardiology / Foundation
Spanish of the Heart
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Recognize if
the patient
has suffered a cardiac arrest
You have to get very close and check that not breathing: the chest does not move and air does not come out of the mouth or nose during 10 seconds
Notify the emergency number 112 first
We must explain to the operator that We are next to a patient who has lost consciousness and is not breathing. It is also necessary to describe our location specifically so that the ambulance can locate us quickly: exact address, kilometer point, etc.
Cardiac massage in adults
It is done only with your hands:
Arms extendedwithout bending the elbows
Patient face up
on the floor
pace of 100-120 per minute
The chest has to descend five centimeters with each compression
It is advisable for several people to alternate to maintain a constant rhythm until emergency services arrive.
It is better that this phase be done someone trained:
It is necessary to check that the chest rises when receiving air
Source: Spanish Society
of Cardiology / Foundation
Spanish of the Heart
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Notify the emergency number 112 first
Recognize if
the patient
has suffered a cardiac arrest
You have to get very close and check that not breathing: the chest does not move and air does not come out of the mouth or nose during 10 seconds
We must explain to the operator that We are next to a patient who has lost consciousness and is not breathing. It is also necessary to describe our location specifically so that the ambulance can locate us quickly: exact address, kilometer point, etc.
Cardiac massage in adults
It is done only with your hands:
Arms extendedwithout bending the elbows
Patient face up
on the floor
pace of 100-120 per minute
The chest has to descend five centimeters with each compression
It is advisable for several people to alternate to maintain a constant rhythm until emergency services arrive.
It is better that this phase be done someone trained:
It is necessary to check that the chest rises when receiving air
Source: Spanish Society of Cardiology, Spanish Heart Foundation
GRAPHIC: G. DE LAS HERAS
The report clarifies that every minute that passes without anyone practicing resuscitation maneuvers on the patient, a 10% chance of survival evaporates and if the stop lasts more than five minutes without any help, even if the patient’s heartbeat is later recovered, The risk of prolonged anoxia causing some type of brain damage increases.
Experts demand more citizen involvement, since six out of every ten stops occur at home
On the contrary, starting cardiac and respiratory shock maneuvers from the first moment, even if they are not practiced with the expertise of a professional, triples the chances of recovering the patient, whose majority profile is that of a man of about 63 years old. “Out-of-hospital respiratory cardiac arrest is a time-dependent process in which every minute of delay in receiving assistance plays against the probability of survival, as well as having an impact on the severity of the consequences,” summarizes Fernando Rosell, emergency physician and studio director.
The problem is that in Spain only one in four cardiac arrests are adequately treated in the first eight minutes. The majority, about two thirds, receive assistance in the first quarter of an hour. These data, far from what is desirable to increase survival, have a lot to do with the low willingness of witnesses to act, which is below the average of our European neighbors.
The analysis details that more than half of the cardiac arrests that occur at home are witnessed by family members or other witnesses, but in less than half of these occasions, 40% to be exact, these people initiate resuscitation maneuvers. sick waiting for specialized help. Among those who do, a third practice resuscitation with telephone advice from emergency technicians and only 4% have the key help of a defibrillator.
Wide room for improvement
The excessive inaction of witnesses is only partially compensated by the improvement in urgent care for these episodes. Although only 15% of home arrests occur in Spain in the presence of emergency personnel, these professionals arrive in time to regain their pulse and transfer 31% of out-of-hospital crises to a health center.
Rosell, in view of the data, and on behalf of all professionals, called on citizens to “be more involved in the care of these patients, especially in the first minutes and until the emergency services arrive.” . A society willing to act and with basic knowledge of resuscitation maneuvers could save between 15% and 20% more lives than now. The same demand was reiterated by Antonio GuzmĆ”n, director of Health Promotion at the Mapfre Foundation. He indicated that experiences in other countries show that the more citizens are trained in minimal skills and the more public availability of defibrillators, the better the survival rates will be. In this task of citizen training, they consider learning resuscitation maneuvers in schools and institutes to be essential, a program that the foundation and the council have been carrying out jointly in the classrooms for years.
The basic advice that experts give to witnesses is that, if they notice a lack of pulse and breathing, call the emergency services and immediately begin resuscitation using chest compressions at a rate of about 100-120 per minute (about two per minute). second). After two minutes of compressions, perform two mouth-to-mouth breaths and repeat them every 30 compressions. They advise using a defibrillator if possible and, in any case, if someone does not feel able to practice breathing, they should at least do compressions uninterrupted until the professionals arrive. Carrying out the process with telephone guidance from emergency technicians is considered the ideal response.
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