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The most comprehensive library of emergency training resources — including videos, articles, downloads, and more.
The most comprehensive library of emergency training resources — including videos, articles, downloads, and more.
Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest is an assortment of current events and news related to emergency cardiac care and resuscitation. Produced by Code One Training Solutions, Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest is published every Friday throughout the year.
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
-Harry Truman
For everyone ambling into high school chemistry on the morning of 20 April 2022, the day seemed as life-changing as you would expect from a group of teenagers preparing for an hour-long stoichiometry lesson. I was a sophomore student at Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee. Like every morning, the bell would ring, students would take their seats and our teacher (Coach Bartlett) would begin class. It is interesting how we define seemingly meaningless times in our lives. We even have phrases like ‘killing time’ to characterise these throwaway moments.
I looked down at my watch. I had plenty of time to eat my strawberry Pop Tart before class started. Coach Bartlett worked hard to challenge students but was also flexible and laid-back enough to let students eat in his classroom before class. This was important for me; as a varsity track and cross-country runner, I typically ran around 65 kilometres a week. Regional championships were coming up, and I had a good shot at helping my team place by running in the 1600 m and 3200 m races. I was satisfied with my personal best mile time of 04:55 and 5K time of 17:50 but was looking forward to shaving a few more seconds off my times. The difference between good and great is only a matter of seconds.
Munching on my much-needed calorie source, I glanced down at my watch in the way time-conscious runners do. My resting heart rate was typical for me at around 50 beats per minute. My only medication was a daily multivitamin, I slept 8 hours a night, ate three healthy meals a day and each year I passed my routine annual sports physical examination. At 16 years old and without any medical problems, I was in peak athletic shape. My chemistry class started in 2 min and my short-term goal was to finish my snack. 2 min was always more than enough time to finish off a Pop Tart.
And then it was not.
The bell never rang.
My heart stopped.
I slumped over unconscious in my chair. And then a race for life began.
Continue: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/01/12/bjsports-2024-109519?rss=1
These solutions should focus on improving citizen and visitor safety through data collection and sharing strategies, and creating community-led collaborations that foster mutual trust and optimize the integrated use of available local resources.
The Citizen CPR Foundation encourages the establishment of a diverse, community based team for the purposes of providing leadership, accountability and culture of collaboration with a focus on issues related to sudden cardiac arrest. By bringing the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of both organizations and the community.
Learn more here: https://www.citizencprsummit.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Citizen-CPR-Foundation-HSC-Guide-FINAL.pdf
‘Any intervention or any interpretation of these laws that reduces clarity will result in delays in resuscitation’
A recent Supreme Court challenge could mean fewer people seeking help when a friend or community member is having a drug overdose.
This in turn could mean a significant increase in deaths in places like Sudbury, which continues to have one of the highest rates of death from overdose in the province.
A challenge to the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, R. v. Wilson is calling into question the protections offered under the law, enacted in 2017 as part of the federal government’s approach to substance use.
The law provides immunity from prosecution for drug possession and some other offences for people at the scene of a drug-related medical emergency.
It is intended to encourage people to stay at the scene of a drug-related medical emergency, provide first aid, and ultimately, save lives and prevent injuries.
Listen to or read the story here: https://www.pelhamtoday.ca/local-news/samaritan-law-challenge-could-mean-more-deaths-say-advocates-10105031
Misinformation has circulated for years on social media about how coughing forcefully can treat a heart attack. Health experts are quick to debunk that myth and warn that “cough CPR” is ineffective.
“Anytime anyone is having chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, get to a hospital. Calling 911 is the safest way to get to a hospital for chest pain,” said Dr. Bryn Elissa Mumma, a professor of emergency medicine at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California.
The term itself is a misnomer because CPR is for someone in cardiac arrest, meaning the heart has stopped beating. At that point, coughing would not be possible, nor would it be considered CPR.
“It physiologically does not make sense,” Mumma said. “(Coughing) just would not work to restart a heart that’s not beating.”
Source: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2025/01/22/why-cough-cpr-is-not-the-lifesaver-its-made-out-to-be
The American Heart Association is advocating for telecommunicator training to reduce the chance of that happening.
“We’re here today to advocate for S.P.11 to try and provide funding for telecommunicators to be able to help them perform CPR over the phone if they aren’t certified, and to be able to recognize when it’s time to start CPR,” said Richmond Carson, who performed life-saving CPR in 2015.
The proposed legislation would be especially impactful for rural communities across Kansas, where emergency medical services often take longer to reach those in need.
“It is so important to start CPR early, and to have high quality CPR. Telecommunicator CPR will allow for that,” said Crystal Presser, nurse practitioner.
As of last week, Senate Bill 11 was referred to the committee on utilities.
Video story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/kansas-lawmakers-urged-to-prioritize-telecommunicator-cpr/ar-AA1xCdLh
When Tyson Yeck rolled up to Max LeeKwai’s remote cabin about an hour north of Portland, Oregon, he was ready to win.
Yeck, LeeKwai and 17 of their University of Oregon fraternity brothers convened for two days of competition. The winner of their “Boiling Man Cabin Games” – the name derived from a hot tub fiasco during an early gathering – takes possession of an engraved axe, plus the more valuable prize of bragging rights.
LeeKwai dreamed up the reunion-competition. The men split into teams for games like “The Blind Samurai,” which involved guiding a blindfolded teammate through an obstacle course while knocking over pool noodles with a bamboo sword.
They gathered on a Friday in August 2022. The first night, the guys cooked pulled pork for dinner, relived their college days and decades of friendship, and caught up on careers and family. The next morning, they had breakfast burritos, then suited up for the first challenge of the day: badminton.
Yeck scored half his team’s points with quick returns at the net. It wasn’t surprising considering his excellent fitness; he lifted weights every morning and rode his exercise bike five days a week. The weekend before, he’d done a 26.3-mile charity hike through the mountains.
Next came “forest soccer.” LeeKwai set up a course of goals made of PVC pipe. To score, the guys kicked the ball through ferns and under roots. Yeck’s team went second. As he chased the ball into a bush, he felt winded. But he didn’t think much of it.
Yeck and his teammates completed the course and LeeKwai called out their time. They trailed the first team by one second. Yeck dropped to the ground face-first and started shaking.
Given the timing, LeeKwai figured Yeck – who, in addition to being competitive, was also a jokester – was throwing a mock temper tantrum over the close loss.
As the seconds ticked by, LeeKwai began to worry.
Continue reading: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2025/01/21/when-one-went-into-cardiac-arrest-another-saved-him
WPTV reporter Brooke Chau surprises Shannon Ferguson with the help of the Port St. Lucie Police Department and St. Lucie County Fire District Station 17
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — On Dec. 13, 2024, life flashed before the eyes of a Port St. Lucie couple.
Shannon Ferguson was at home with his fiancé Renee Ward relaxing after dinner when he suffered a clogged coronary artery.
“He started making a weird sound like he was trying to catch his breath,” said Ward. “I just called 911, put the phone on speaker and did CPR the best I could.”
The Port St. Lucie Police Department and St. Lucie County Fire District Station 17 arrived at their home and tried to save Ferguson’s life.
“The first responders came in with a mission … and that was to save him,” Ward said. They are the real heroes.”
Mohave Community College announced last week that it is now offering self-guided CPR Certificate testing that will allow students to maintain or earn their certifications.
According to a press release, the Resuscitation Quality Improvement CPR stations are designated areas equipped with technology and mannequins to facilitate hands-on practice for healthcare providers. These stations include equipment for performing CPR as well as a feedback system that provides real-time performance metrics.
Jackie Newman, director of healthcare simulation, said the machines provide clear instructions and easy-to-understand feedback, even for people who are not highly trained in CPR, making them effective for both professionals and laypeople.
The Circuit, run by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), in partnership with the Resuscitation Council (UK), St John Ambulance and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, is a first-of-its-kind programme to connect all defibrillators in the UK to a single network, and became fully operational in 2022.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service has supported the campaign by helping with the transfer of the region’s community-based defibrillators onto the database.
The Circuit has just celebrated reaching the goal of 100,000 defibrillators being registered at locations around the UK including schools and supermarkets, libraries and gyms, churches and pubs. In Yorkshire there are 7,738 registered defibrillators.
This means that when someone has a cardiac arrest and a bystander calls 999, the ambulance service can direct them to their nearest registered defibrillator while they wait for the ambulance to arrive.
“There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the UK. Tragically, less than one in 10 survive. However, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator can dramatically improve a patient’s chance of survival.
“The number of defibrillators that can be accessed by communities across Yorkshire has soared in recent years which means there are more devices than ever before to help save lives.
“At Yorkshire Ambulance Service we activate an average of 1,700 defibrillators to emergencies every single month. The Circuit has not only simplified the process for registering defibrillators but also sends maintenance reminders to those who look after the devices as well as a notification when one has been used so it can be checked and made available for the next emergency.
The late Dr. Richard E. Kerber of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine was a pioneer in what is now known as resuscitation science.
As a founding chair of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee in the 1970s, he led the development of the association’s cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines, long the gold standard for training in the U.S. and internationally.
Kerber developed, taught and promoted standards of care for all “Code Blue” events, all of which he audited, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for nearly four decades. He directed the placement of a defibrillator on every ward and in every clinic at the hospital long before that became standard. Kerber also championed and led the extension of CPR training, initially designed for use by health care personnel, to lay people — the bystanders who perform CPR for a sudden cardiac arrest victim in a community setting.
Whether you’re at a weekend tailgate or anywhere you see someone in cardiac arrest, first call 911, then push hard and fast in the center of the person’s chest to “Let’s Go Blue.” No mouth-to-mouth required. Just keep on pushing until help arrives. Saving a life is that easy.
“In choosing this year’s focus and theme, we have expanded our topics and reach to use our lessons learned, research, and best practices to address the preparation, identification and care in resuscitating patients whose hearts have stopped no matter the cause.”
-Ed Racht, MD, CASSummit 2025 Program Chair
Learn more here: https://citizencpr.org/cassummit/
At the Citizen CPR Foundation, their mission is to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest by fostering a culture of preparedness and response within communities.
They believe that every individual has the potential to make a difference in time-sensitive emergencies. The Citizen CPR Foundation is committed to empowering citizens, professionals and organizations through comprehensive education, training and advocacy. Together, with other champions, they aim to create stronger community support systems that will improve sudden cardiac arrest outcomes.
About the foundation: https://citizencpr.org/
Feel free to email david@code1web.com
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