No sooner had the news of devastation in Japan subsided then we were shocked by the death toll to our north from the most active tornado season in history. Certainly, with the approach of hurricane season here in South Florida, we all read these reports with more than the usual apprehension about what the upcoming storm season will bring. With each approaching storm we all make our runs to Home Depot, fill our tanks with gas, stock up on our batteries, water and canned goods and hope for the best. Somehow the episodic always captures more drama and attention than the common, even if it is the latter that is actually more devastating.
Each year, approximately 300,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac death. For many, if not most, it is the first manifestation of heart disease – in other words, they had no warning. Unlike weather patterns, heart disease is ubiquitous in our society – no region or community is spared. Similarly, there is no “season.” CNN and Fox can travel from one weather alert to the next, with dramatic depictions of human trauma and overwhelming destruction. But the tragic loss of human life that robs a young bread-winner in the prime of his life, or leaves a family bereft of their matriarch, or strikes a promising young athlete, occurs one at a time. No fanfare, no cameras or reporters, no federal emergency relief funds, no visits from the President or the governor. And yet, in the final analysis, the toll in human life is ever so much higher and more devastating.
The painful reality is that, despite all of the remarkable advances in medicine, if someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest in most communities in the United States, his/her chance of neurologically meaningful survival is approximately 7% – a figure that has been shown to more than quadruple if people in the community know what to do. If someone were to arrest in front of you, lose consciousness and stop breathing, would you know what to do? What can we offer for our sudden cardiac arrest disaster planning?
Remarkably, the answer is astoundingly simple. 1) Recognize the problem – don’t “freak out”; don’t panic. Check it out. Is the person really unresponsive? Is he really not breathing? 2) Call 911. If someone is with you, they can call while you move to step 3. If not, make the call NOW. 3) Start PUSHCPR™ – put one hand over the other in the middle of the person’s breast bone with the person lying on his/her back and push hard (2 inches or more, releasing completely between pushes) and fast (100 times/minute – to the rhythm of the Bee Gee’s song “Staying Alive”); 4) If help is available, try to get a defibrillator and give the person a shock—if not, keep going till EMS arrives. Afraid of hurting someone or doing damage? Stay focused – if the person has stopped breathing, blood flow to vital organs has ceased and he/she is essentially dead – your efforts (protected by Good Samaritan statutes) will only improve chances for survival.
Time for disaster preparedness? Time to learn PUSHCPR™. For more information on how you can save a life with PUSHCPR™, visit www.floridaheart.org.
