Cardiac arrests cause around 50,000 deaths in France every year. Which amounts to around a hundred deaths per day. According to the latest statistics, almost 70% of these accidents happen at home, while the rest occur either in public places or on public roads. This is why it is important to have the right reflexes when faced with such a complication.
Call emergency services and check
It must be emphasized that the survival of a person in cardiorespiratory arrest often depends on the initial reactions of the people around them at that time. So, the first thing to do in such a situation is to call for help. To do this, simply dial 15 to contact the SAMU or 18 for the firefighters. You must also tell the person you are talking to that it is a cardiac arrest.
Then, while waiting for help to arrive, you must check the patient’s breathing and at the same time free their airways. First, have him lie on his back, on top of a hard surface.
Get on your knees and place a hand on that person’s forehead. You will then lift his chin with your other hand before gently tilting his head back. This way you can observe and listen if she is breathing or not. At the same time, check if there are foreign bodies in his mouth that could hinder his breathing. If she wears dentures, remove them immediately.
Insufflation and cardiac massage
You can then carry out a few series of inflations. Depending on the patient, it is possible to carry out mouth-to-nose, mouth-to-mouth or even mask ventilation. In the case of an adult patient, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation should be done using a mouth-to-mouth mask.
The first thing to do is pinch the person’s nose and cover their mouth with yours. Then blow slowly inside his mouth. Take a deep breath of air and repeat the operation several times. Please note that when you insufflate, the patient’s chest should rise.
Then check his breathing. If he is not breathing, a cardiac massage should be performed immediately. Place your hands, one on top of the other, between the patient’s two breasts, that is to say in the middle of their chest. Make sure your arms are straight vertically.
Then quickly push backwards for 4 centimeters before letting your hands come up. Continue by alternating 2 breaths and 30 cardiac massages. As soon as the person regains consciousness, breathes or speaks, you can stop the cardiac massage. Simply lay her on her side while waiting for help to arrive.
Using the defibrillator
When a person suddenly suffers a cardiac arrest, it is possible to restart the functioning of their heart by using an automatic defibrillator. Moreover, this device is starting to be available everywhere, namely in public places, planes, trains, etc. The purpose of using this device is to detect fibrillation, or more simply an anarchic contraction of the heart. Its use is also quite simple.
First, you open the defibrillator and follow the voice instructions. Next, you will stick the electrodes on the subject, that is, one under the left breast and one under the collarbone. Now it’s time to connect the cable. When the latter is connected, the device indicates that it is analyzing the patient’s heart rate and that the patient should not be touched.
After this scan of a few seconds, you have the choice between two options. Or the recommended shock where the device shocks or offers to shock. You just have to press the flashing button. Never touch the victim. Or non-recommended shock where you will resume cardiac massage.