In an article printed in the journal of the American Medical Association, heart experts at the University of Arizona say national standards should no longer require mouth-to-mouth ventilation for adults suffering cardiac arrest.

New studies show fast and forceful chest compressions are more valuable. Doctors say it moves oxygenated blood to the brain and heart, sustaining the body for up to ten minutes. The advice is the same for all ages - 30 compressions - and you don't have to stop to check for improvement. What's important is to keep the blood flowing.

Each year, 600,000 people die in the United States when their heart suddenly stops beating and professional help does not arrive in time. That's why for 40 years the Red Cross and the American Heart Association have been teaching citizens to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with a combination of 15 chest compressions then two breaths in the mouth.

But Dr. Gorden Ewy is out to prove that CPR - as it is done now - is a gigantic failure!

"What's at stake?" asks Ewy, director of the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona. "Thousands of people's lives."

Ewy says the big problem with CPR as it is currently practiced is those breaths to the mouth, which interrupt chest compressions. During that interruption, he says, the critical flow of blood to the brain also gets interrupted.

And more important, surveys show most people won't blow into a stranger's mouth. The advice is the same for all ages - 30 compressions - and you don't have to stop to check for improvement. What's important is to keep the blood flowing. Studies have shown that blood circulation increases with each chest compression and must be built back up after an interruption.

Dr. Arthur Sanders from the Sarver Heart Center, says "We improved survival from 13% for people receiving ventilation and compression, to 80% survival rate where they were getting continuous chest compressions."

Every year, the American Red Cross trains 20,000 citizens on the old method. But the Red Cross and the American Heart Association will be reviewing this new research to see if national CPR standards should be revised. The Red Cross says it's possible changes could be made by 2006.

 

Instructions

In witnessed sudden cardiac arrest in adults, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is not necessary. Follow these instructions to perform Continuous Chest Compression CPR:

NOTE: Gasping is not an indication of normal breathing or recovery. Initiate and continue compressions even if victim gasps.

 

1.	Direct someone to call 911 or make the call yourself.
2.	Position the victim on his or her back on the floor. Place one hand on top of the other and place the heel of the bottom hand on the center of the victim's chest. Lock your elbows and begin forceful chest compressions at a rate of 100 per minute.*
3.	Perform continuous chest compressions until paramedics arrive. Take turns if you have a partner.

*Remember, the idea is to mimic a steady heartbeat!