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Treating the Dead

Posted by kdawson on from the pining-for-the-fjords dept.

FlyByPC writes "According to a NewsWeek article, oxygen deprivation doesn't kill patients as much as the resumption of oxygen does. This discovery could bring about new ways of resuscitating people whose hearts have stopped."

3 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Make it simpler.... by zoltamatron · · Score: 4, Informative

    I forget the actual numbers, but the idea was really to simplify the procedure. It's more important to get blood flowing through the heart than do the breaths, so this way inexperienced people spend less time fumbling around with the breaths and more time pumping.

    --
    Tolerance does not tolerate intolerance, or hypocrisy.
  2. Re:Makes a little bit of sense. . . by necro81 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm not sure if the guidelines vary by country, but the U.S. guideline was 15 compressions for every 2 breaths (5 + 1 if two people are working). The guidelines were changed to 30 + 2 at the end of 2005. The reason for the change, as others have mentioned, is that the circulation of blood is most important. Rescue breathing takes time, is harder to do correctly than chest compressions, and takes time (consider it an operational overhead). Also, the compression of the chest causes some air movement on its own, though it is shallow.

  3. Re:Makes a little bit of sense. . . by sharky611aol.com · · Score: 5, Informative
    Wow, way too much pseduoinformation here. I'm ACLS certified, so take this to the bank:

    First off, a public service announcement. The current guidelines (which are actually backed up by some pretty good science) are a ratio of 30:2 compressions to breaths. Another important thing to note is that the rate of compressions is 100/min. This is faster than you think and believe it or not is incredibly difficult to do. For the tempo, think "Another One Bites the Dust" (and pardon my irony).

    Ok, now on to the reasoning behind the change. ("Well, I could explain it better, but I'd need charts, and graphs, and an easel.") Essentially, the flow of blood through the arteries and into the myocardium requires the creation and maintenance of a pressure head. Research has shown that it takes about 5-7 compressions to create that pressure head, and every time you stop pumping, you lose that pressure. Now only when this pressure head exists is oxygen being delivered to the myocardium, thus any time you stop pumping, you're creating a period of time in which oxygen is not being delivered. And apparently 30:2 was the best ratio for oxygenating blood in the lungs and delivering blood to the heart.

    Here's the official guidelines and all the studies behind them in all their linky goodness. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/vol112/24_supp l/