New CPR and ECC Guidelines
The American Heart Association has issued new guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. For a summary discussion of the changes, click here.
These are the five major changes in the new guidelines for CPR:
• Emphasis on, and recommendations
to improve, delivery of effective chest
compressions
• A single compression-to-ventilation
ratio for all single rescuers for all victims
(except newborns)
• Recommendation that each rescue
breath be given over 1 second and should
produce visible chest rise
• A new recommendation that single shocks,
followed by immediate CPR, be used to
attempt defibrillation for VF cardiac arrest.
Rhythm checks should be performed every
2 minutes.
• Endorsement of the 2003 ILCOR
recommendation for use of AEDs in
children 1 to 8 years old (and older); use a
child dose-reduction system if available.
(The above summary is quoted from page 3 of the Currents publication referenced immediately above.)
Find a link to the new guidelines themselves here. And here is a press release giving more details than the bullet points above.