If you haven't been
well-trained in CPR and you see someone having what appears to be a heart attack, just doing chest compressions to help keep the blood flowing can be as effective as CPR that includes mouth-to-mouth breathing, new research claims.
Two new studies, appearing in the July 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that when bystanders were instructed by emergency dispatchers to give either standard CPR, which includes mouth-to-mouth breathing, or chest-compression-only CPR, survival rates were similar between the two techniques.
Experts hope that by simplifying the procedure and removing the mouth-to-mouth contact that more bystanders might be willing to attempt CPR.
"Bystander CPR can double your chances of survival, but the biggest thing is getting more people to try it. Only one in three people who need it get bystander CPR," explained the lead author of one of the studies, Dr. Thomas Rea, medical director of the Emergency Medical Services Division of Public Health for Seattle and King County in Washington. "If we can make it less complicated, it may enable more people to perform CPR."
Rea said that rescue breathing can be difficult, especially for someone who isn't trained in the technique. Even in people who are trained, but don't often have the chance to practice rescue breathing, it can be hard to do. - Health Day News
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