February is American Heart Month, which makes this a perfect time to underscore the significance of CPR. When you or someone you love is having a heart attack, it’s crucial to get help quickly, typically by dialing 911. However, time is critical, and you can start helping him or her right away if you know how to correctly perform CPR. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 60-80 percent of people who go into cardiac arrest die before reaching a hospital. However, if it is performed quickly enough, CPR can double or even triple a person’s chances of survival.
“In many, if not most cases, if you’re performing CPR, you’re doing so to save a loved one’s life, which is why it’s important to know the correct way to perform CPR, or even hands-only CPR, which has proven to be equally effective,” said Dr. Jane Souther, cardiologist with Blount Memorial Physicians Group – Cardiology. “With hands-only CPR, you don’t have to perform the breathing techniques you may have seen or been taught before; it’s just chest compressions. It’s important, though, to do them properly,” she explained. “You want to focus on pushing hard and fast on the center of the chest to the beat of a song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute, such as ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees. Remembering the beat of a familiar song really can make all the difference,” she added.
Learning how to perform hands-only CPR can take as little as two minutes, but knowing when to perform it is even more critical. “All of us should be aware of the warning signs of a heart attack, so we can spot them when we see them,” Souther said. “Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) means being able to recognize when someone is experiencing mild chest pain, pressure or discomfort; shortness of breath; nausea or vomiting; excessive fatigue; or pain that travels down one or both arms. Part two of EHAC is responding, meaning to call 911, then perform hands-only CPR or find and deploy an Automated External Defibrillator (AED),” she said.
Sometimes, the life you save by recognizing and executing EHAC just might be your own. “Some patients confuse the early symptoms of a heart attack with heartburn or indigestion, and may not feel like these feelings are life-threatening,” Souther said. “The milder the symptoms, the easier they are to ignore, as well. We all lead busy lives and don’t always take mild discomfort seriously. But you shouldn’t sit there in pain thinking it will go away on its own – if you’re experiencing these symptoms, get yourself checked as quickly as possible. Remember that women’s symptoms can be very different from men’s symptoms. Often, women experience palpitations, pain in the shoulders or neck, or extreme weakness, which also can be early signs of a heart attack,” she explained. “The majority of damage done to the heart during a heart attack occurs during the first two hours, so you could be doing real damage to your heart, your life and your future if you delay that visit to the hospital,” she added.
You can learn the life-saving hands-only CPR technique in as little as 90 seconds by watching an instructional video available at heart.org/handsonlycpr. To make an appointment for evaluation with Blount Memorial Physicians Group – Cardiology, call 865-238-6161.
