ASHTABULA — The local Red Cross is hoping to breathe continued life into its cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program by encouraging people not to abandon certified training.
In response to Tuesday’s Associated Press story, Renee Palagyi, who is the education and training specialist for the American Red Cross Ashtabula County chapter, is very concerned about the public’s perception of the “hands only” CPR technique announced by the American Heart Association on Monday.
“I am so concerned that people are going to think CPR is not necessary,” Palagyi said.
The story, quoting the American Heart Association, states that bystanders who don’t know CPR should call 911, then do what’s known as hands-only CPR, skipping the mouth-to-mouth portion of the lifesaving technique.
The AP story said the following about hands-only CPR:
“Hands-only CPR calls for uninterrupted chest presses — 100 a minute — until paramedics take over, or an automated external defibrillator is available to restore a normal heart rhythm. This action should be taken only for adults who unexpectedly collapse, stop breathing and are unresponsive. The odds are the person is having cardiac arrest.”
The American Red Cross also came out with this technique, which they call “compression-only” CPR, but as Palagyi states, “The Red Cross did not emphasize it because CPR training is still just as vital and compression-only, or hands-only, cannot replace certified CPR training.”
“The article as stated is true, but this technique is only acceptable if you witness a collapse of an adult: never children or infants, and never on someone you come across who has already collapsed, because it may be a respiratory problem,” she said.
For example, Palagyi related an incident that occurred recently where co-workers found a man who already had collapsed and was turning blue.
“The collapsed man needed one other step that is not mentioned in the article: His airway needed to be opened, which is a step in every CPR training class. This man’s life was saved because there were CPR-trained people available.
“There are so many other things that are covered in training, like check the scene to make sure it is safe before beginning rescue — and someone choking in front of you has nothing to do with hands-only CPR,” she said.
The hands-only CPR is intended for the untrained person or someone who is unwilling to be trained properly or put their mouth on someone else’s mouth.
“It is everyone’s goal here to save lives, but we cannot stress enough that hands-only, or compression-only, can never replace certified CPR training,” Palagyi said.
Call the American Red Cross’ Ashtabula County chapter for information on CPR training classes (440 998-1020).
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