What happens is they develop a sudden chaotic heart rhythm which no longer pumps blood, and the fancy medical term for that is ‘ventricular fibrillation’ ... .
Basically, the heart’s just sitting in their chest quivering, and it doesn’t pump any blood, and what they need is a ‘defibrillator’, a machine to provide a shock to basically ‘reboot’ the heart like you reboot a computer ... and the CPR, the chest compressions, buy time.
So the rescuer’s acting, in essence, as an artificial heart for that person ... circulating blood to their heart muscle and to their brain, to keep those organs functioning until help can arrive ... .
What we tell people is that we want them to push hard and push fast, and ... it’s hard to tell you what that means, but it’s pretty hard; you have to put your muscles into it, put your body weight into it, really push hard ... .
This is something anyone can do, and don’t be afraid to try it because you can only help.
Dr. Michael Sayre
Hands-Only CPR
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, The Ohio State University
Listen to the full interview below, and feel free to share your comments.
