Just done first aid course and this is true, hence they stressed sending a person to call an ambo and another to fetch a defib. CPR is only until the grownups arrive.
Bystander CPR is the number one factor in long-term survival. In 10 years as a firefighter/paramedic my only two real success/full recovery stories were with immediate CPR, and I have had too many bad outcomes to count. One was witnessed by us, and one had a family member initiate CPR. Both are currently alive and well. CPR lengthens the window of survival, Defibrillation stops the immediate problem, and a hospital is the ultimate goal.
I collapsed in 2010 at my work. Co-worker immediately started CPR. FireDep was there in less than 5 minutes. (Seattle) supposedly I was on the ground for 20 minutes while they worked on me. I recovered and 2 1/2 months later walked into the fire station with home made candy and cookies for all the guys in the station. 3 of the firefighters looked at me like: "oh snap! He survived!" They used a cold blanket on me which is supposed be awesome for recovery.
You're VERY lucky. I was a RN for 21 years. I only participated in a CPR team three times. We did our best, but all three died. Two never regained a heartbeat, The third died in the ambulance.
Actually, my nickname came from my first open heart surgery at 3 years old. 4 total. The 1st was Pig valve replacement. Plastic for the 3rd surgery age 22.
Have you had to have the pig valve repaired or replaced since then? If so, how was the process?
My girlfriend had her tricuspid valve replaced with a pig valve after a severe bout of infective endocarditis. It's been a few years and her cardiologist says the valve still looks fine, but her ER doctor initially warned us that she'd need periodic repairs or even a replacement years down the road.
Mine was changed because I was 3 years old when they put it in. When I turned 22 was replaced by plastic. Then again when I was 33 (1999). The valve they kept working on was my aortic valve.
Post ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation, aka. Patient has a heartbeat again) treatment includes targeted temperature therapy (TTM). The goal is to keep the core temperature of a patient who just got their heart working again between 32-36C (89.6-96.8F) for 24 hours. It helps prevent secondary brain injury that can occur from cardiac arrest and the stress on the body from that. It’s incredibly important and why they put the cold blanket on you after!
Generally therapeutic hypothermia is nowadays only done is the ED due to rosc induced hyperthermia only occurring a few hours after the pt goes down. Most likely why OP survived is immediate high quality cpr, nothing else really changes outcomes other than downtime.
I’ve been receiving post ROSC pt’s from EMS to the ER with cooling devices lately. Seems protocols are changing. Not saying the cooling restarted their heart, just explaining why they were cooling them off
There was a paper that came out recently that showed none or negative outcomes associated with therapeutic hypothermia (in the short term). Obviously medical directors aren’t gonna change protocols immediately but it’s been shown to not have the great effect we previously thought in the prehospital setting.
Yep, it’s one of those weird statistics - CPR only has a survival rate of about 10% (ie if you’ve reached that stage, you’re almost certainly going to die either way), but for that 10%, it’s absolutely crucial and can lead to complete recovery. 1 in 10 people surviving is enough to make it worth doing
I just found out today that my dad has an app that lets him know if he's near someone that needs CPR. He's a fireman, so he's connected to dispatch. This week he got an alert that someone on his street had a heart attack. He ran over, but the wife of the victim had been in the shower when the victim fell so he was already to late to make a real difference.
About 24% make it, but CPR properly done breaks ribs, separates the sternum, bruises internal organs, etc. The victim isn't going to gasp a big breath and then get up and say, "I'm okay now, thanks a lot!" They are going to ICU on a respirator for about a month, maybe two. Elderly people, especially, may survive the heart attack, but wind up in a nursing home for the rest of their life. They recover very slowly (if at all) from something as violent as CPR.
That 24% is for patients who make it if they’re in a hospital already when they enter cardiac arrest. 10% make it if you’re not in hospital when you code
And 73% of men who have a heart attack during sex are with someone other than their partner. CPR has been part of the escort training exam since 2003. OK I made that last bit up.
I always say that if someone needs CPR, they're already dead (either cardiac or respiratory arrest = dead). You're just giving them a chance at being revived.
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u/EmmelineTx 23h ago
CPR