Ahhh… the dangers of the Internet. Everything lives on, even outdated guidelines.

Thanks to an astute reader of yesterday’s blog, my attention was called to the AED video to which I link in the last paragraph. While the instructions for use of the AED are helpful, the commentators offer old advice on CPR (chest compressions and rescue breathing). This is because the video was shot in 2008, before the new recommendations were released.

Prefacing their new 2010 guidelines, the American Heart Association notes:

“Most victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest do not receive any bystander CPR. There are probably many reasons for this, but one impediment may be the A-B-C sequence, which starts with the procedures that rescuers find most difficult, namely, opening the airway and delivering breaths. Starting with chest compressions might encourage more rescuers to begin CPR.”

For this reason, the 2010 recommendations on CPR have changed. The new guideline (see page 3) allows compression-only CPR for those who may be reluctant to perform rescue breaths.

In short, the new algorithm for an unresponsive victim who may be having a heart attack is:

• call 911
• get the nearest defibrillator (AED) and follow instructions
• if AED is not available, chest compressions alone, or chest compressions and rescue breathing, until help arrives

Thanks for reading!