American Red Cross, American Heart Association Emphasize CPR Training; CPR with Rescue Breathing, Chest Compressions Benefits Victims

3/12/2004

From: Heather Overstreet of the American Red Cross, 202-303-4476 or overstreeh@usa.redcross.org, or Tagni McRae of the American Heart Association, 214-706-1383 or tagni.mcrae@heart.org

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- While Emma Williams and her family were taking photos outside last Christmas Eve their neighbors screamed for them to call 911. Their 18-month-old baby had stopped breathing and had no pulse, and they were panicking as the 911 operator they had reached tried to find a Spanish-speaking operator. Luckily, just months earlier, Williams had completed a course and was prepared with CPR, First Aid and automated external defibrillator (AED) training. Despite the frantic situation, Williams remained calm and began CPR on the unconscious baby. Finally, after about five minutes, she was able to get a pulse just as the paramedics arrived to rush the baby to the hospital.

"This is a perfect example of how important it is for everyone to take CPR training," said Scott Conner, vice president, preparedness, American Red Cross. "From infants to adults, knowing the right CPR techniques is essential to saving someone's life."

Recent news reports have stated that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officials in major cities across the country are recommending chest compressions alone for treating certain adult victims of cardiac arrest.

The American Red Cross and American Heart Association only recommend compressions-alone CPR in two cases - when emergency medical dispatchers are giving untrained bystanders instructions over the telephone, or when bystanders are unwilling or unable to provide mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing. These recommendations are consistent with the American Heart Association's Guidelines 2000 for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.

CPR training provided by the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association will continue to include instruction in rescue breathing and chest compressions. Both organizations follow guidelines approved by the international consensus.

"Current scientific data does not support removing rescue breathing from CPR in all resuscitation attempts, so the American Heart Association does not expect to change its recommendation in the next edition of its guidelines in 2005," said John E. Billi, M.D., chairman of the Emergency Cardiovascular Care committee for the American Heart Association.

According to Dr. Donald Gordon, M.D., PhD., chair of the American Red Cross Advisory Council on First Aid and Safety (ACFAS), and Dr. Billi, instructing untrained bystanders to provide continuous compressions CPR is better than having them provide no care. However, the best thing to do when someone suffers cardiac arrest is to be prepared -- and that means getting trained. During CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training, people are taught to:

-- Quickly recognize cardiac arrest or other emergencies and call 911.

-- Provide CPR right away, if necessary.

-- Use an AED if one is available.

-- Continue to give care until EMS arrives.

The American Red Cross and American Heart Association encourage everyone to prepare themselves to save a life -- by enrolling in a CPR and AED training course today. To enroll in an American Red Cross training course, visit http://www.redcross.org to find contact information for your local Red Cross chapter; to enroll in an American Heart Association course, call 1-877-AHA-4CPR or visit http://www.americanheart.org/cpr.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is dedicated to helping make families and communities safer at home and around the world. Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of more than 900 chapters and Blood Services regions dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1.2 million volunteers and 32,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchanges more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide.

About the American Heart Association

Since 1924 the American Heart Association has helped protect people of all ages and ethnicities from the ravages of heart disease and stroke. These diseases, the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers, claim more than 930,000 American lives a year. The association invested more than $348 million in fiscal year 2002-03 for research, professional and public education, and advocacy so people across America can live stronger, longer lives.