t's official: Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation died today.
The American Heart Association (AHA) today issued new guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, better known as CPR, making rapid chest compressions the mainstay of basic life support for bystanders trying to revive people whose hearts have stopped.
Doctors say the AHA's change marks the end of the organization's advocacy of a practice believed for at least half a century to be essential for saving victims of cardiac arrest or heart attacks. "Compression is the only way to go," says AHA's Michael Sayre, an emergency physician at Ohio State University. He added that rescue breathing is still recommended for children and anyone whose cardiac arrest is likely due to oxygen deprivation.
continued at USAToday.com>>
The American Heart Association (AHA) today issued new guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, better known as CPR, making rapid chest compressions the mainstay of basic life support for bystanders trying to revive people whose hearts have stopped.
Doctors say the AHA's change marks the end of the organization's advocacy of a practice believed for at least half a century to be essential for saving victims of cardiac arrest or heart attacks. "Compression is the only way to go," says AHA's Michael Sayre, an emergency physician at Ohio State University. He added that rescue breathing is still recommended for children and anyone whose cardiac arrest is likely due to oxygen deprivation.
continued at USAToday.com>>
