Cardiac arrest tool gains endorsement
A UA-developed technique to assist sufferers of cardiac arrest received an endorsement in today’s issue of the American Heart Association’s Circulation journal.
In it, the AHA’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee penned a statement promoting rapid, uninterrupted chest compressions – a staple of cardiocerebral resuscitation – over the conventional CPR method that involves breathing into a person.
The committee believes the lack of a mouth-to-mouth component will encourage more bystanders to aid someone in cardiac arrest.
“”We have recommended this approach for bystanders since 1993, after we found in our experimental laboratory that survival was better with Chest-Compression-Only CPR compared to doing nothing until the simulated arrival of paramedics,”” said Gordon A. Ewy, director of the UA’s Sarver Heart Center, in a university statement yesterday. “”It is gratifying to see the AHA make this important endorsement, as we think it will help save thousands of lives.””
Cardiocerebral resuscitation demonstrated encouraging survival rates in a three-year study led in part by the Sarver Heart Center.
Cardiocerebral resuscitation consists of 200 uninterrupted chest compressions over two minutes, followed by a rhythm analysis and potentially a single electric shock. The technique lacks the mouth-to-mouth component of CPR.
The study looked at 886 cardiac arrests that occurred statewide. The percentage of individuals who survived long enough to be discharged from a hospital rose to 5.4 percent from 1.8 percent after paramedics received training in the technique.
The study is part of a resuscitation evaluation project called Save Hearts in Arizona Registry and Education. The project is a collaboration of the Sarver Heart Center and the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma System.
The results of the study were published in the March 12 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Arthritis center revises staff
The Arizona Arthritis Center announced a slew of position changes last Friday.
Thomas E. Buchanan was announced as the center’s new development director, according to a university statement. He has more than 30 years experience in nonprofit management and development.
Joan Lisse was named the new chair of the center’s friends board, a volunteer group that aims to build support for the College of Medicine’s Center of Excellence through education, public awareness and community involvement.
She will serve as an ex officio member of the center’s advisory board, which recently added three new members – Eric Gall, the center’s director from 1985-1994; Jeffrey R. Lisse, the center’s interim director until January; and John R.P. Tesser, a rheumatologist with the center and a clinical lecturer at the UA.
– Arizona Daily Wildcat
