By The Journal Times Editorial Board | Posted: Monday, September 22, 2008 12:00 am
Every once in a while we are reminded about how important it is to know CPR and how any one of us could help save a life.
The most recent reminder came in the person of Dan Griffin who suffered a heart attack while playing golf at H.F. Johnson Park. Fortunately for Griffin there were two people nearby who knew what to do. Friend Rob Polzin started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Golf course maintenance worker Jack Feiner retrieved the automated external defibrillator (AED) from its place at the pro shop. This was another bit of luck for Griffin. AEDs contain a computer to do what all those doctors in medical shows do: They analyze a heart's rhythm, and if necessary they deliver an electric shock to correct it.
For Griffin the story has a happy ending. He lived. A large number of the people who suffer heart attacks outside a hospital don't survive, however. That is why the presence of Polzin and Feiner was so good for Griffin, why the park's acquisition of an AED was also valuable, and why more of us should have CPR training. With a commitment of a couple of hours once every couple of years, you could be trained to perform CPR.
The difference that such training can make is dramatic because as soon as a person collapses the timer clock of life begins counting down to zero. Although no one collects information on CPR and AED use, thus making it hard to provide firm conclusions, information from the American Heart Association illustrates the benefits. In cities such as Seattle where CPR training is widespread and the response of fire/rescue crews is quick, the survival rate is about 30 percent for people with ventricular fibrillation - meaning the heart's main pumping chamber loses its rhythm. In cities such as New York where few people are given CPR by bystanders and rescue response is longer, survival is 1 to 2 percent. AED use by lay people in places such as O'Hare Airport and Las Vegas, the association says, has produced survival rates of 50 to 74 percent.
If you're worried about not doing well at applying CPR, worried that you won't remember, don't. Medical studies have found that most people, including health care workers, don't retain the training that well and don't perform CPR according to published guidelines. What is important is not doing everything by the book, however, but doing something because every little bit of blood pushed to the brain and other organs helps.
It's not hard to find CPR classes. Call the local chapter of the American Red Cross or watch The Journal Times Health & Fitness File on Wednesday to find classes at fire departments, municipalities, and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
CPR isn't hard to learn, and people like Dan Griffin will appreciate your effort.