PHA

CARDIO PULMONARY RESUSCITATION

The Council on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is one of the busiest and most productive scientific councils of the PHA. Created in 1982 as one of the original Councils, its aim is to promote CPR education and training of both medical and lay personnel. Its network has grown significantly, and it has established linkages and cooperation with international resuscitation councils. Today, this body continues to give seminars and updates on adult basic and advanced cardiac life support to medical and paramedical personnel, and workshops on basic life support to the non-medical community.

The Philippine Heart Association National Expanded Council on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is a FULL MEMBER of the Resuscitation Council of Asia (RCA), the Asian representative society of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). It was accepted as the 5th member on November 5, 2009, joining Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, and officially inducted on June 9, 2010. ILCOR is the accredited leader in establishing international guidelines on resuscitation, and is composed of the American Heart Association, the European Resuscitation Council, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation, the Resuscitation Councils of Southern Africa, the Resuscitation Councils of Asia and the Inter American Heart Foundation. Its objectives include provision of a forum for liaison between principal resuscitation organisations worldwide, fostering of scientific research, and dissemination of information on training and education in resuscitation.

AED AWARENESS: MORE AEDs = MORE SAVED LIVES

In the world of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) the magic number is ten. Whether you are a helpful bystander or a trained emergency medical technician, it's estimated that you have only ten minutes to take the steps to save the life of someone whose heart is in ventricular fibrillation (sudden cardiac arrest).

The first thing to do if you find someone without vital signs (pulse and breathing) is to call 911 (EMS) or send someone else to make the call.

If an AED is nearby, open the AED and follow the voice prompts, including voice prompts for giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If no AED is available, someone with CPR training should begin CPR evaluation and administer CPR.

How common is sudden cardiac arrest?

According to the most recent American Heart Association fact sheet on outside-of-hospital SCA, statistics on the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in America are not exact. (The Heart Rhythm Foundation puts the mortality rate from SCA at 325,000 deaths per year, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, at 350,000). All three organizations cite figures that 93 to 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.

Europe adds an estimated 700,000 more sudden cardiac deaths, according to the European Resuscitation Council.

In the Philippines, an estimated 250,000 people succumbs to sudden cardiac arrest every year.

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That's more than a million sudden cardiac arrest deaths every year!
Thus, the desperate need for Publicly Accessible Defibrillation!

According to Dr. Mickey Eisenberg, writing for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, in cities such as Seattle (WA) and Rochester (MN) where emergency response time averages six or seven minutes, 30 to 40 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims in witnesses ventricular fibrillation survive.

In New York City, where emergency response time average 12 minutes, the survival rate is only 5 percent.

He goes on to cite statistics from cardiac rehabilitation centers that show that defibrillation within the first 3 minutes after collapse can enable as many as 90 percent of SCA victims to survive (Note: Brain death can happens if not defibrillated within 5 minutes)

These statistics on emergency response defibrillation are echoed by numbers from on-site defibrillation programs including airports across the country and Las Vegas casinos. There, public access defibrillators have allowed non-medical rescuers to assist SCA victims in the first few minutes after collapse, achieving survival rates of 80 percent and better.

Conclusion: AED awareness is imperative. Its deployment is crucial in preventing sudden cardiac deaths.