University at Buffalo (UB)
In a practical video, Anne B. Curtis, MD, promotes a simple procedure that anyone can use to provide critical assistance to an unresponsive heart attack victim.
Video Shows How Chest Compressions Save Lives
Published February 19, 2015 This content is archived.
story based on news release by ellen goldbaum
Even untrained bystanders can help a cardiac arrest victim by performing simple chest compressions, says cardiac arrhythmia expert Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of medicine.
The leading clinical cardiac electrophysiologist gives step-by-step guidance in a powerful, practical video produced by the University at Buffalo in February — American Heart Month.
Uninterrupted Chest Compressions Most Important
“After calling for help, immediate, uninterrupted chest compressions are the most important thing you can do when someone has collapsed and is unresponsive — meaning they can’t talk back to you,” says Curtis.
In these situations, it’s fair to assume the victim has no pulse, she notes.
No special training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is needed, Curtis emphasizes. Following these simple steps may help save a life:
- lock your hands together
- aim for the bottom half of the patient’s breastbone
- straighten your elbows
- press down about two inches on the chest bone approximately 100 times per minute
“That will keep a patient going until help arrives,” she says.
Best Option: AED Machine With Trained User
“If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available and there is more than one person to help, then using it makes more sense,” notes Curtis.
However, for those unfamiliar with the device, it’s best to perform chest compressions rather than spending time trying to figure out how to use the AED, Curtis suggests.
“Of course, the more people who are trained in CPR and in using an AED, the better.”
Curtis has played a key role in developing national treatment guidelines for treating atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder that can cause fatigue, shortness of breath, exercise intolerance and perhaps lead to heart failure.
Her clinical research has significantly advanced knowledge of human cardiac electrophysiology and heart rhythm abnormalities.