If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Good news for the squeamish: The American Heart Association said Monday that hands-only CPR — a series of deep presses on the victim’s chest until paramedics arrive — works just as well as standard CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults.

Experts hope that this new standard will increase the likelihood of a bystander to jump in and help if they witness someone suddenly collapsing. Hands-only CPR is much simpler and easier to remember, and is more comfortable for anyone who may be skittish about the mouth-to-mouth breathing.

“You only have to do two things. Call 911 and push hard and fast on the middle of the person’s chest,” said Dr. Michael Sayre, an emergency medicine professor at Ohio State University who headed the committee that made the recommendation.

The hands-only CPR requires the administrator to do uninterrupted chest presses on the victim — 100 per minute — until help arrives or an automated external defibrillator is available to restore a normal heart rhythm.

CPR should only be administered on adults who unexpectedly collapse, stop breathing and are unresponsive. The chances are great that the person is having cardiac arrest (when the heart suddenly stops), which can occur after experiencing a heart attack or can be caused by other heart related problems. In such cases, the victim still has sufficient air in their lungs and blood, and the series of compressions will keep blood flowing to the brain, heart, and other essential organs.

In contrast, a child who collapses suddenly is more likely to have breathing problems primarily. In such instances, mouth-to-mouth breathing should be administered. This also applies to adults who suffer lack of oxygen due to a near-drowning, drug overdose or carbon monoxide poisoning. Under these circumstances, people need mouth-to-mouth to get air into their lungs and bloodstream.

In either case, “Something is better than nothing,” Sayre said.

For more information, visit the American Heart Association Web site.

Tags: blood flow, breathe, chest compression, collapse, CPR, mouth-to-mouth