Atlantic Highlands First Aid Squad

Hoping to get more people doing life-saving CPR faster, the American Heart Association has rearranged the guidelines to move away from giving mouth-to-mouth breaths.

Instead, the AHA recommends bystanders witnessing someone suffering sudden cardiac arrest to start CPR immediately by compressing the center of the chest.

For more than 40 years, CPR guidelines had rescuers performing mouth-to-mouth breaths before starting chest compressions. However, research indicated many people were reluctant to do so on strangers because of yuck factor.

Likewise, stopping to deliver the breaths also delayed chest compressions, which research has indicated is more important early on.

“Sudden cardiac arrest claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year in the United States, and the American Heart Association's guidelines have been used to train millions of people in lifesaving techniques,” Dr. Ralph Sacco, president of the AHA said in making the announcement. “Despite our success, cardiac arrest and the quality of CPR matters, whether it's given by a professional or non-professional rescuer.”

CPR is used to help someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest, meaning they have no pulse and are not breathing. Most sudden cardiac arrests occur in out-of-hospital locations. More important, a majority of them never get CPR.

Since 2008, the AHA has been pushing untrained bystanders to use a hands-only method of CPR. Doing so, bystanders should call 9-1-1, and then push hard and fast on the center of the person's chest until trained EMS staff arrives. The compressions should be two inches deep and at a rate of at least 100 per minute.

“These new guidelines should help remove some of the fear bystanders may have had when witnessing someone collapse,” said Richard Huff, chief of the Atlantic Highlands First Aid & Safety Squad. “When someone experiences a sudden cardiac arrest, every second counts. By getting bystanders involved in this critical first step, they can then become part of the process of saving a life.”

The AHA recommends chest compressions begin immediately on anyone who is unresponsive and not breathing. Trained rescuers will continue to perform rescue breaths, though will start with 30 compressions first.

Training programs for the new guidelines will not be phased in for a few months, at least, according to AHA officials.

“The Atlantic Highlands First Aid & Safety Squad is committed to bringing the new CPR training to the area residents once it is available,” said Huff. “The squad has four AHA trained and qualified instructors on the team who are dedicated to expanding the life-saving knowledge of the community.”

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