New CPR Guidelines

Posted on Oct 22, 2010 in Clinical Updates | 0 comments

New CPR Guidelines Published by The American Heart Association

 

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The American Heart Association is re-arranging the ABCs of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in its 2010 revision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care (ECC).

For more than 40 years, CPR training has emphasized the ABCs (airway, breath, compressions) of CPR, which instructed people to open a victim’s airway by tilting the victim’s head back, pinching the nose and breathing into the victim’s mouth, and only then giving chest compressions. However, this approach was causing significant delays in starting chest compressions, which are essential for maintaining the circulation of oxygen-rich blood.

Research shows that rescuers who started CPR by opening the airway took 30 critical seconds longer to begin chest compressions than rescuers who began CPR with chest compressions. Changing the sequence from A-B-C to C-A-B for adults and children allows all rescuers to begin chest compressions right away.

The change in the CPR sequence applies to adults, children, and infants, but excludes newborns.

Among the changes, published in Circulation:

• The order of CPR is now C-A-B (compressions, airway, breathing) instead of A-B-C for everyone except newborns. The first cycle should include 30 compressions before rescue breaths.
• “Look, listen, and feel” is no longer recommended.
• Compressions for adults should be at least (instead of up to) 2 inches and performed at a rate of at least 100 times per minute.
• Between each compression, rescuers should avoid leaning on the chest to allow it to return to its starting position.
• Untrained bystanders should perform compression-only CPR (previous guidelines did not address untrained bystanders separately).
• Emergency cardiac treatments no longer recommended include routine atropine for pulseless electrical activity/asystole, cricoid pressure (with CPR), and airway suctioning for all newborns (exception for those with obvious obstruction).
• New sections address post-arrest care, care for children with cardiac arrest and specific congenital heart defects, and follow-up for children or young adults with sudden, unexplained cardiac death.

Pediatric advanced life support (PALS) guidelines provide new information about resuscitating infants and children with certain congenital heart diseases and pulmonary hypertension, and emphasize organizing care around 2-minute periods of uninterrupted CPR.

The CPR and ECC guidelines are science-based recommendations for treating cardiovascular emergencies and were first published by the American Heart Association in 1966.

Free full text available here.

Published on October 22, 2010

Source: Field JM, Hazinski MF, Sayre MR, et al.  2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation. 2010;122:S640-S656.

Retraining or Newly Training?

Watch the video. Share the link with your coworkers and patients.

And The American Heart Association has the products and programs:

Healthcare Training - Relevant Training for Real-Life Emergencies

Workplace Training - Are Your Employees CPR Trained?