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Can Anybody Perform CPR

Published on 5th June 2020

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – a life-saving technique – “pumping” the chest cavity to simulate the heart’s pumping and keep blood flowing until medical help arrives.

It’s quite a scary thought when you read that, isn’t it? 

But let’s be honest – if you ever find yourself in a medical emergency – it IS a scary process.  

Let’s just go back to the REAL basics for a moment… 

In every healthy person, the heart pumps to drive blood around the

body, delivering oxygen to the brain and other vital organs

amongst a whole range of other benefits. 

If the heart stops, the flow of blood stops. After just four minutes, the lack of oxygen to the brain causes permanent, irreversible damage. 

240 seconds. 

But when performed correctly, and within the first 3-5 minutes, CPR can increase a person’s chances of survival by 50-70%.

You’re not exactly going to have time to consult Google though are you? 

Martek-Lifecare has a range of life-saving products, but let’s look at one of our more recent additions that anyone would be able to use with no experience, to deliver effective CPR. 

What Is Beaty? 

Beaty is a device purpose-made to help anyone carrying out CPR to judge the correct depth of their chest compressions. 

The American Heart Association (AHA) published CPR guidelines in 2010 emphasising how important the rapid identification of cardiac arrest was alongside high-quality chest compressions. 

These recommendations were based on a study by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) which stated that… 

“Higher survival rates were found in cases where 100 chest

compressions were given per minute to a depth of 5cm” 

By giving clear audio feedback during chest compressions, even people with minimal CPR training can use Beauty to adjust their technique and the force applied to the victim’s chest. 

This way they can be certain that their compressions are reaching the effective depth for patients over 8 years of age – a famously difficult judgment to make without years of experience and in-depth training. 

Do I Need Special Training To Use AED’s? 

For some types of defibs, you’ll definitely need to have had training or be experienced in order to use them. But not with Beauty as it isn’t an AED. 

We don’t think it’s possible to have too much training in life-saving techniques of course, and would always advise being prepared for an emergency situation. However, Beaty was designed to be simple, clear and easy for EVERYONE to use regardless of how much experience or exposure they have previously had to CPR application.

How Do I Use Beaty?… What Do I Do? 

There is a sketch on the device itself which is super easy to follow – to act as a guide to place Beaty in the correct position on the victim’s chest. We’re not negating the importance of the process here – just simplifying it so that action can be taken immediately by anyone with a Beaty device to hand. 

This will confirm that your compressions are effective and reaching the required depth. 

What about Ventilation – the “Breathing” part of CPR? 

Research is always changing what we know about effective First Aid, and official guidelines evolve based on these results. Scientific advice now puts an emphasis on effective chest compressions when performing CPR – the most difficult part to get right.   

If you’re untrained, or you don’t feel safe ventilating, then chest compression. ONLY is recommended – this is based on similar survival rates for  

both types of CPR in this situation. 

If you have been trained and feel comfortable ventilating the victim, a sequence of 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths is recommended (and repeat for as long as necessary). 

Chest Compressions – How Fast Will I Need to Pump? 

The recommended compression rate is 100-120 per minute. This is roughly the same as playing The Bee Gees’ song “Stayin’ Alive” in your head and compressing to the rhythm. 

This needs a quick beat and you must make sure that your compressions don’t become shallower as you keep the pace.

Are there Things That Beaty Doesn’t Do? 

Effective CPR involves more than just correct chest compressions. Whilst it is easy to explain the process of CPR, in reality emergency situations are extremely stressful – especially if your loved ones are involved. 

A key factor in Beaty’s design is its simplicity – having too much feedback would be like trying to perform CPR in a room full of people all shouting instructions – confusing and counterproductive. If the user was having to listen for too many instructions or cues, it could easily dilute the efficacy of all of the actions. 

Studies have shown that insufficient compression depth is the major factor in ineffective CPR, even among professionals, and Beaty exists to correct this. 

By focussing on the compression alone, this gives a rescuer the best chance of saving a life by addressing the most common problem with CPR technique. 

Beauty isn’t an AED, it doesn’t give the rhythm of the compressions or have any additional functionality, to ensure the compression needs remain the focus and reduce the risk of overwhelm in an emergency.

Should Beaty Replace A Defibrillator? 

Absolutely not. 

A defibrillator (AED) ALWAYS has a place in CPR and it is 100% required where a heart attack is caused by Arrhythmia. 

Studies have shown that combining CPR and rapid defibrillation increase survival rates, so chest compressions should be performed before and after the use of an AED. The accuracy of the compressions around the CPR will hugely benefit the patient, so Beaty can provide the confidence that the compression is being applied to an effective depth. 

Is Beaty Suitable for Use on Children? 

Beaty can be used on Children aged 8 or over. 

What If My Chest Compressions Cause the Victim Injury? 

It is remarkably common for effective CPR to result in broken ribs – this isn’t a sign that you have performed CPR incorrectly. 

Deeper chest compressions have been proven to increase victims’ survival rate

Injuries from CPR can be upsetting for the person administering and uncomfortable for the victim afterwards, however, the alternative to these injuries could be death due to cardiac arrest. 

If you ask the surviving patients whether they care that a few bones (which can heal!) had to be broken in order to save their life, they’d probably say they’re grateful! 

Correct chest compressions are vital for effective CPR, but if you’re uncertain of the correct depths, and bones may be needing to break in order to reach those depths, that’s quite a judgment call to a novice. 

Beaty is designed to indicate that chest compressions are in line with the recommended CPR guidelines – regardless of the bones. 

Emergency situations rarely offer the luxury of time, so the next best thing is planning.  

Having a Beaty device to hand could be the difference between life and death. If you’d like to explore how you can best equip your team in situations like this and offer defibrillators or Beauty devices to your workforce, we’re here to help.