Heart Association changes CPR guidelines

[ParamedicDiver1]

The official "Roll-Out" for the new changes by AHA is not scheduled until after Jan 1st, meaning that we won't start teaching the new guidelines until February at the earliest. If you are currently CPR qualified, keep following the current guidelines until you take a refresher course and learn all the new guidelines. Instructors should be receiving the updates through their Training Centers and Regional Faculty after the New Year. Thanks!

 

[garyfotodiver]

The official "Roll-Out" for the new changes by AHA is not scheduled until after Jan 1st, meaning that we won't start teaching the new guidelines until February at the earliest. If you are currently CPR qualified, keep following the current guidelines until you take a refresher course and learn all the new guidelines. Instructors should be receiving the updates through their Training Centers and Regional Faculty after the New Year. Thanks!

THANK YOU!! It's about time someone explained the timeline rationaly.

 

[PairofMedics]

Liability issues must be addressed. This is theprovince of the various state governments.

I believe this is the reason persons who are trained might not participate in a CPR event, especially on a stranger.

Myth #1 Liability...Whether or not your state has a Good Samaritan law on the books, the FEDERAL Good Samaritan law covers you under that legal umbrella.

Myth #2 Breaking ribs...Have you ever cracked your knuckles? That's what happens during CPR. The ribs and sternum are connected with cartilage allowing the chest to expand and contract with respiration. While popping that cartilage is almost always done, actually breaking a rib is extremely rare. Besides...they're dead...you're NOT going to make them worse.

It is also important to differentiate between bystander CPR and professional rescuer CPR. As a CPR instructor and paramedic running 911 calls and working cardiac arrests in the field, what I do along with the CPR performed determines how it is done. We secure an airway with a tube, and the EKG monitor/defibrilator shows us the heart's rhythm and how well we are doing chest compressions. If the American Heart Association is putting out new guidelines, then the rest of the world has also come to agreement, because AHA participates in an international association to keep treatment consistent across the world.
Either way, the performance of CPR by someone...anyone is better than it not being done at all. A little bit goes a long way. Learn CPR...it's better to help, than feel helpless.

 

[PairofMedics]

Here's a good place where you can scan summaries of the laws for each state and get the codes to look up the actual verbage of the law.

It looks like all the states have laws, but some (like Mississippi) only apply to trained responders.

The Faderal Good Samaritan Law covers you the same way, even if your particular state doesn't have a GS law on it's books. Federal law ALWAYS supercedes state laws.

 

[Wildcard]

You have a magic monitor that shows you how well your chest compressions are being done? Every monitor I have seen in over 20 years of EMS just shows electrical activity or lack there of. And to think I have been wasting time palpating pulses to check effectivness.

 

[ParamedicDiver1]

You have a magic monitor that shows you how well your chest compressions are being done? Every monitor I have seen in over 20 years of EMS just shows electrical activity or lack there of. And to think I have been wasting time palpating pulses to check effectivness.

Not sure exactly what POM means, I think that what he/she means is that EKGs especially a 5-Lead that shows Leads II and AVF does show a "CPR wave" but the tell tale sign of good and proper compressions is a palpable pulse and even an actual blood pressure. That’s right, good compressions can actually give you a blood pressure that is measurable, mind you it is low, but still readable.

 

[garyfotodiver]

The Faderal Good Samaritan Law covers you the same way, even if your particular state doesn't have a GS law on it's books. Federal law ALWAYS supercedes state laws.

Not what my instructor told me. Since he signed my certificate and not you, I'll stick with what he said. When I recertify next summer, I"ll learn whatever the new guidelines are. Until then, I'll practice what I was taught.

Remember, there are two sets of laws, criminal and civil. Persons have been found not guilty of murder in criminal court, but liable in civil court. Two different sets of standards.

I do not even want to spend the money to go to court, even if I would be exonerated. It is not worthh it.

 

[Wildcard]

Not sure exactly what POM means, I think that what he/she means is that EKGs especially a 5-Lead that shows Leads II and AVF does show a "CPR wave" but the tell tale sign of good and proper compressions is a palpable pulse and even an actual blood pressure. That’s right, good compressions can actually give you a blood pressure that is measurable, mind you it is low, but still readable.

I have seen BPs in the 90s on a few codes but 50-60 is more the norm, enough for perfusion and palpable pulses.
I would have to wonder why they didn't just jump all the way into continous chest compressions? From what I have read it takes 10-15 seconds of compressions to bring the static pressure back up after stoping for breaths that 9 times out of ten end up in the belly anyway.

 

[ParamedicDiver1]

New AHA CPR ECC Guidelines 2005 Webcast

http://www.eccguidelineswebcast.org/

Winter 2005 Edition of Currents (AHA Newsletter) with new recommendations:

http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1132621842912Winter2005.pdf

 

[PairofMedics]

Certificate? We issue cards, not certificates for CPR. Maybe you are refering to your dive instructor. In which case he is wrong in regards to the good samaritan laws accross the country. Even I, when off duty, am covered by the good samaritan laws. And as a CPR, First Responder, EMT and Paramedic instructor this is a subject I have particularly researched since it is a common and valid question that arises in most of my classes. This is an area of both civil and criminal law where the accusing party must meet the full burden of proof before any charges can be FILED...never mind prosecuted. Meaning they would have to convince a judge that you intentionally and further injured the victim, and have multiple independent testimonies to prove it. And even then the judge is likely to prevent the filing because your intent is what must be proven, which is difficult enough as it is. This is considered settled law by the US Supreme court, and it should be within society as a whole.