First Aid
5. Cardiorespiratory Arrest
When both the heart and breathing stops, we are faced with cardiorespiratory arrest.
A person who suffers cardiorespiratory arrest falls unconscious to the floor, does not breath and has no pulse.
5.1. Causes of Cardiorespiratory Arrest
The heart may basically stop for two reasons:
- 1) Due to lack of oxygen. In the case of respiratory arrest, if artificial respiration is not begun rapidly, or if it is not effective, cardiac arrest may occur after a few minutes.
- 2) Due to injury to the heart: Heart arrest may be primary, i.e. not secondary to respiratory arrest. For example, in the case of infarction (heart attack).
5.2. Basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR
- 1) Request emergency medical aid.
- 2) Place the person in the CPR position, i.e. face up on their back on a hard surface.
- 3) Open the airway. Check and unclog the mouth. Give two deep insufflations over the injured person’s mouth.
- 4) Begin cardiac massage. Uncover the person’s chest, locate the sternum and protect the xiphoid process with two fingers.
Place the heel of your right hand above these two fingers, on the sternum.
Place your other hand over this one, extend your elbows, let the weight of your body fall forward pressing down on the injured person’s sternum. It is calculated that the pressure that the injured person’s thorax should be subject to is that exercised by an adult of around 70 kg in weight, thus making the sternum descend around 3 to 4 cm. If you should weigh more than the aforementioned weight, press more gently on the patient’s thorax. The thorax of children should be compressed with less force and, if they are under 7 years of age, compression should be carried out with only one hand.
One compression should be made every second, or a little more slowly, until completing 15 compressions. Give two rescue breaths once again. Should there be two people present who know these CPR manoeuvres, one is to keep the airway open and to carry out respiration while the other will take care of cardiac massage . The frequency in this case will be 1 insufflation and 5 compressions.
Every 4 complete cycles of 2 insufflations and 15 compressions, check the person’s pulse again. Suspend resuscitation if the pulse appears, otherwise continue until medical aid arrives.
The set of artificial respiration and cardiac massage techniques is known as basic CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION or CPR. It is termed basic because it is done by non-medical personnel. The sooner basic CPR is begun, the greater the chances of success and, above all, of recovery without neurological consequences. That is why it is import for the greatest number of people possible to know these resuscitation techniques.
REMEMBER:
- If there are two first-aiders: 1 insufflation, 5 compressions.
- If there is one first-aider: 2 insufflations and 15 compressions.
