CPR Guidelines - American Health Care Academy

With the widespread COVID-19 pandemic and the probability of an increase in cardiac arrests, new 2020 CPR guidelines have been released. The modifications were made in an effort to limit the personnel attending to a patient, reduce provider exposure, and encourage bystander CPR with an emphasis on providing at least hands-only chest compressions.

American Health Care Academy has updated their First Aid and CPR courses online with this new 2020 Interim Guidance. Individuals are encouraged to go through the course (for free) if their CPR certification is still valid to become familiarized with the new CPR guidelines. If your CPR or First Aid certification is expired, you are encouraged to renew your certification to ensure that you are prepared if there is an emergency at home or in your community.

With social distancing in place, and many people working from home, there is an increased chance that you will have to attend to a family member in the event of an emergency.

The 2020 Interim CPR guidelines were updated by the American Heart Association in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Association of Respiratory Care, The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The “Interim Guidance for Basic and Advanced Life Support in Adults, Children, and Neonates with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19,” was published on April 9, 2020.

Additional resources and guidance on CPR training can be found here. American Health Care Academy is also offering a 19% discount with the code STAYSAFE19 for all individuals who choose to certify during this COVID-19 pandemic. We want to educate as many people as possible so we can be better-prepared lay responders and healthcare providers for our families, friends, community members, and the global society.

Every year in the United States, almost 650,000 individuals die from heart disease. The majority of these people do not get the chance to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from a bystander, thus significantly reducing their chances of survival.

Fortunately, CPR is not a skill that only paramedics or medical professionals should learn—you are perfectly capable of learning it too! Learning CPR would not only make you confident in the event of a medical emergency but it would also help you save lives. Here are 5 more reasons why you should learn CPR.

5 Reasons Why You Should Learn CPR

1. CPR is Easy-to-Learn

Some individuals think that performing CPR is only a job for medical professionals. Others, on the other hand, believe CPR is only applicable to those with years of training and extensive experience in the medical field. Fortunately, you don’t have to complete years of medical school to learn and effectively perform CPR.

You might be surprised to learn that CPR is extremely easy-to-learn, especially when you train under an experienced medical instructor. You can learn how to properly execute chest compressions and be an expert in no time.

You’ll also enjoy CPR classes as they are interactive and hands-on. Furthermore, there are a number of CPR online training courses available which can just be as enjoyable, in addition to being convenient.

2. CPR Prevents Brain Death

When a medical emergency occurs, one of the first things that may occur in your mind is to call 911 and seek immediate help from professionals. While this is a vital step, it’s not always enough. This due to the fact that no matter how quick emergency personnel can send help, no emergency response is immediate.

A lot can happen during those six to 12 minutes before medical help arrives. In fact, this is usually the time when brain death starts to occur just after the heart stops functioning.

Fortunately, by learning CPR, you can effectively and instantly keep blood flowing to provide oxygen to the victim’s brain and other vital organs. This ultimately gives the victim a better chance for a full recovery.

Did You Know? According to the American Heart Association, performing immediate CPR can increase the chances of survival by twice.

3. CPR Teaches You How to Properly Handle Emergencies

Medical emergencies can happen anytime and when they do occur, they can make people feel confused and helpless. In fact, about 70% of Americans have no idea of how to properly act in the event of a cardiac emergency because they did not learn CPR.

That’s why it’s extremely important to complete CPR training. Once you do, you’ll have the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively administer CPR in an emergency situation. You can also gain the right amount of confidence, which is vital in making good decisions for any given medical situation.

4. CPR Lets You Become Part of the Solution

During out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, statistics reveal that less than 30% of victims receive bystander CPR. It’s also been shown that less than 3% of the U.S. population receives CPR training. This ultimately leaves many individuals unprepared when it comes to responding to cardiac arrest.

Fortunately, you can do something to become part of the solution. Sign up for a CPR training course today and significantly improve the survival rates of out-of-hospital individuals suffering from cardiac arrest.

5. CPR Saves Lives

More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur every year, and unfortunately, 88% of this large number die. Not only that, but four out of five cardiac arrests also occur at your own home, making you and your loved ones at risk.

Fortunately, when you complete a CPR course, you can effectively perform CPR not only on your loved ones but also on any stranger who requires it. Doing so can keep the person’s blood circulating until medical personnel arrives on the scene. This ultimately improves their chances of survival, thus, saving the lives of people that matter.

With sudden cardiac arrest as the leading cause of death in the United States, it’s more important than ever to learn how to perform CPR. Not only is it easy-to-learn and interactive but it also lets you save many people’s lives.

ALSO READ: All You Need to Know About Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Interested to learn CPR today? American Health Care Academy is a trusted nationwide CPR online training center. We offer online CPR training courses that provide the necessary health training to help save lives. To learn more about our courses or to schedule training, contact us today!

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Also known as superficial wounds, first-degree burns only affect the skin’s top layer. They are minor skin injuries, which don’t always require professional medical care. In some instances, they can be big and painful, requiring one to seek professional medical care. Burns occur often and so enrolling for first aid burns course is crucial to prepare yourself for such emergencies.

Common First-Degree Burns Symptoms

First-degree burns have minor symptoms that fade away after a few days. These include swelling, skin redness, and pain, which are often mild. Someone who has completed first aid burns will know how to treat most first-degree burns symptoms. First-degree burns can grow bigger sometimes, hence the need to visit a doctor.

Common Causes of First-Degree Burns

There are many causes of first-degree burns and they may include:

Sunburns— They are common first-degree burns, which occur when one is exposed to ultraviolet rays for long hours. They mostly make your skin peel, redden, or even blister.

Scalds—They are the main cause of first-degree burns in kids not older than 4 years. These happen when hot liquids spill on the victim’s body, hands or face.
Electricity— Kids tend to adore the look of electrical appliances, sockets, and cords, but they often expose them to great risks.

How to Treat First-Degree Burns?

Most superficial burns can be easily and quickly treated at home. However, if the size and condition of the burn appear bigger, you should call a doctor to examine the condition.

These are the signs doctors will check to confirm the severity of a burn.

The depth of the burn into the skin’s layers
If the burn is located near the mouth, eyes, or nose
Whether it is swelling, oozing, or producing pus

You are advised to consult a doctor if the burn is extra painful, infected, and swollen. Burns in body areas like the hands, groin, feet, and face heal slower, hence the need to have them checked by a doctor.

The Best Way to Treat First-Degree Burns At Home

The best way to treat first-degree burns at home is to apply a cool compress on the burn to reduce swelling and pain. The compressing can be done for around five to fifteen minutes. You are advised never to use extra cold compresses or ice as they will likely aggravate the severity of the burn, causing more pain and swelling.

The Estimated Healing Time for First-Degree Burns

When the burned skin heals, it will peel off, which may take up to a couple of weeks. However, the time a burn takes to heal is dependent on the affected area. Consider seeking professional care when you detect signs of infections on the burn.

Best Ways to Prevent First-Degree Burns

There are many precautions to be observed to prevent first-degree burns, among which are outlined below.

Unplug every appliance not being used from power
Use childproof covers to insulate the exposed electrical sockets
Keep all electrical cords away from children reach
Wear sunblock or sunscreen with a sun protection factor of higher than 30 SPF
Ensure the water from your water heater is not more than 120 ˚F. If your water heater generates water hotter than 120˚F, you should reset it to achieve the recommended temperature
Ensure hot cooking pots are placed on burner backs with the handles turned away from the stovetop center

Understanding the importance of chest compressions during CPR and how it can be done to save the life of the patient.

The traditional procedure involved during the CPR is mouth to mouth breathing for the rescue purposes. However, most of the time the chest of the patient does not rise at the first mouth to mouth rescue breath. The purpose of this procedure is to open the airway of the patient and force oxygen inside the lungs. Though it sounds easy, sometimes the opening of the airway becomes quite tricky. You can get BLS for healthcare providers, so you can be useful during emergency situations.

Importance of Chest Compressions

Regardless of whether it is successful for the second time, return to compressing the chest. It is imperative for the blood to move around the body. There’s most likely still a lot of oxygen in the circulatory system. Just chest compressions will get the blood to reach the heart and the brain.

Previously, all the emphasis was conveyed on the mouth to mouth rescue breathing. Nobody gave much attention whether it’s causing the chest to rise or not. They supposed that if the air is not reaching the lungs, there must be something stuck down the windpipe. Thus, they neglected the chest compression and lost what they could have saved.

Just Two Breaths

Make sure to begin with chest compressions. In case you are performing mouth to mouth, just two breaths are fundamental, regardless of whether it is effective or not. If both of them are successful, fantastic, again start compressing the chest.

On the off chance that the first is successful but the second one is not, continue chest compressions. If both of them are unsuccessful, continue compressing the chest. No matter what occurs following a second breath or another attempt, continue chest compressions. Once you have completed 30 chest compression attempts, give two additional breaths, and do it again.

How to Cope?

Attempt once more. The first step in CPR is not the blowing of air into the patient’s airway. You can only start blowing once you have started to compress the chest of the patient. Furthermore, if you don’t have CPR training, there is no need fora mouth to mouth rescue breathing. Even if you are fine with it, make sure to compress the chest first.

The airway is typically opened by chin-lift, head tilt procedure. The aim is to transfer the air to the lungs by getting the tongue aside. At times it is exceptionally difficult to open the airway along these lines. It can be tricky sometimes even for the EMTs or paramedics. So if you are not successful in the primary attempt, turn the head a little down and raise once more. At that point, attempt another mouth to mouth rescue breath.

Steps for Trained in CPR

Check the heartbeat and breathing of the patient for almost 10 seconds.
If the pulse is absent, give 30 chest compressions.
Chin-lift, head-tilt and attempt a breath.
Attempt another breath.
Do all the procedure once again.

Easy Steps for Untrained in CPR

If a heartbeat is absent, a complete100 to 120 chest compressions for every minute unless the help arrives.
Try not to stress over mouth to mouth.

If you want training in CPR and basic life-saving techniques, you can consider BLS for healthcare providers.

The children, infants, and adults need different types of CPR since they have unique body structures. It is important for you to know the differences when carrying out CPR to avoid causing harm. Most of these skills are acquired through online CPR certification. Here are some of the common differences that you need to know.

Adult CPR

Adults can suffer from chokings, drowning, and other common problems. However, most of the adults suffer from cardiac arrest. Here is a guideline that you will learn from online CPR certification about what you are supposed to do when carrying out CPR on an adult.

The first thing that you need to is to call 911 before you begin carrying out the CPR if you are the only person. Unless you are very sure that the person is unconscious due to a blocked airway, you should make sure that you have called 911 before providing CPR. If there is someone nearby, they should make the call as you carry out the CPR.
Make sure you check for a pulse. It is very easy for you to check out for a pulse on the patient by placing your two fingers on the neck.
Compression- For adults, you are supposed to carry out the compressions with both hands on the chest of the victim. The depth of the compression should be about two inches.

Children CPR

The bones of a child are usually flexible and therefore they cannot break easily. The tongue of a child is usually larger than the mouth and the airway is narrow. Due to their nature, children are also more likely to receive CPR since they play around with more objects. The CPR techniques that are used on children who are about 8 years old are the same as the ones for the adults. Here are the other common differences.

Carry out CPR first- The first thing that you need to do on the child is to carry out the appropriate CPR practices before calling 911. The chances of survival among the children are usually higher when CPR is carried out in time. If there are people around, someone else should make the phone call as you carry out the CPR.
Rescue Breaths- The airways of a child are fragile than those of the adults. Therefore, you must be very careful when you are carrying out the rescue breaths and avoid tilting the head so far. Tilting the head further can easily block the airway. Just tilt the head gently and give them rescue breaths.

CPR on Infants

The infants are usually fragile than the children and therefore you can carry out CPR in a careful way. The guidelines are usually the same except the following.

See if the baby is unconscious- The first thing that you need to do is to check whether the baby is unconscious before carrying out the CPR. You should check the baby by touching them gently and not shaking them
Rescue Breaths- carry out rescue breaths on the child

With the best CPR certification, you can easily rescue your beloved ones. It is all about taking the time to get the right skills.

We do not know what will happen in the next few hours as we mundanely live our lives. Most of the time, our day usually ends, and we sleep peacefully. However, there are chances of going into an emergency that can jeopardize our lives. And, it is in these situations that a CPR online certification can prove to be important.

If we are all well-trained in dealing with emergencies, we can save lives. Below are just a few of the most common emergencies that we may experience first-hand, whether it is our loved ones or someone close by.

Problems in Breathing

Breathing problems may be a result of a variety of causes. They may be suffering from a stroke, a heart attack, or a severe injury that leads to a severe block in the air passageways.

The Signs

Breathing becomes uncomfortable and hard to do. Additionally, it may become a lot faster or slower
There is a presence of a weak cough
Noise is heard with breathing
The patient loses the ability to speak

Asthma

Asthma is the most common situation that makes patients experience breathing problems. Most people with asthma are well-aware of their condition so they always have an inhaler with them all the time. At times, their asthma attack may be severe, that they would need another person to facilitate and help them with the inhaler.

Here are the things you need to do when someone close by is having an asthma attack:

Observe the surroundings to ensure there is no hazard.
Confirm if the patient needs help with the inhaler.
If the inhaler is not available, immediately call for medical help through EMS.
You can also ask bystanders to do the call for you when you are attending to the patient.
Never leave the patient until medical help arrives.
When the patient becomes unconscious, start CPR.

Choking

Choking is another medical emergency that affects the breathing of a person. It can cause a more severe obstruction of the airways, making it more difficult to breathe. In the worst-case scenario, a patient may have a completely blocked airway and will need to have immediate care administered as soon as possible.
Note that the standard sign, if you are choking, is to grab your throat. Educate your family and friends so they can ask for help, as choking takes away your ability to speak.

What to Do

When the patient is still responsive, do the Heimlich Maneuver
When they start to become unresponsive, immediately ask for medical help by calling EMS yourself or asking a bystander to do it
At the same time, you should also be doing CPR at this point. Never stop doing CPR until the right medical professionals arrive.
If the patient is pregnant, never do the Heimlich Maneuver with them from the back. Instead, as what you have learned from a CPR online certification course, have them lay down with their back flat on the floor and start doing careful abdominal thrusts

If you watch a lot of TV shows or movies that are set in hospitals and medical facilities, you would often come across scenes where medical professionals with AED certifications shout, “Charging, five hundred, clear!”

You will notice them holding equipment that looks like two flat irons. They put it on the victim’s chest. This is called a defibrillator. It is vital equipment to help the victim survive life-threatening situations, especially during a cardiac arrest.

What is Cardiac Arrest?

When a person goes into cardiac arrest, their heart experiences some sort of a limbo termed as fibrillation. When the heart stops to function and pump blood to your other body parts, the brain will start to have a low oxygen supply. If not attended immediately, you could die in as short as five minutes.

This is why anyone who is undergoing a cardiac arrest should be provided medical treatment as soon as possible. When someone experiences a cardiac arrest in an unexpected place where there is no medical facility nearby, CPR could serve as a temporary solution to maintain the oxygen flow to the blood while the heart is still not functioning well. But, to address the issue of heart functionality, it would take a defibrillation process that involves electric shocks to restart the heart.

The Definition of Defibrillators

Defibrillation is easy to understand. It is the process of stopping the fibrillation process that happens during a cardiac arrest. To do that, a defibrillator is needed. It is an equipment that makes use of electrical voltage that could be between 200 to 1,000 volts. The electric current coming from the defibrillator will be passed along to the heart so it is shocked and triggered to work again in a normal way.

You might already recognize a defibrillator as you would have seen them on TV or in movies. It is a machine that houses electric supplies with two electrodes termed as paddles. These paddles are firmly and securely pressed to the victim’s chest. What you may not know is that the position of the paddles on the chest is crucial.

It is important for the current to be very near the heart so it can function normally again. Put one paddle on the upper right side of the chest and the other to the lower left side of the chest.

The Effectiveness of Defibrillators

Today, you would most probably notice that defibrillators are present in most public places. They have become as common as fire extinguishers. Back then, they were only available in hospitals and medical facilities. But, through the years, experts and professionals have found out that there is a need for defibrillators to be easily accessible.

This way immediate defibrillation can be provided by those with AED certifications when someone experiences cardiac arrest. Moreover, the defibrillators that are found in common places today come with simple instructions. So even if someone is not that trained to provide first aid, they can use the defibrillators by following the instructions.

Truly, there are millions of ways to get your career kickstarted and let yourself explore the world and all its possibilities. But, do you think it would still be possible to do all that when you are suddenly put in an alarming medical emergency? Enter, CPR classes online.

Believe it or not, learning how to do CPR is a very rewarding thing. Just imagine how satisfying it is to be able to do the right thing when you or someone close by is in a medical emergency situation. Now, you may have already decided on going on the path towards a career-related in the health industry. However, note that becoming a doctor, specifically a surgeon, is not meant for everyone.

The good news is that there are other ways of being in a health-related career without being a surgeon. Even the simple effort of learning CPR goes a long way. Let us discuss a few reasons why gaining knowledge of CPR is vital.

Peace of Mind

Whatever your reasons for learning CPR, they will all ultimately lead to providing you peace of mind. It would be devastating to think that you should have taken a CPR course when an emergency is right there in front of you. If you prepare yourself and get to master everything that is needed to perform CPR and other life-saving techniques, you can take all your worries away because you become more confident that you know the right things in order to alleviate emergency situations.

Additionally, when your family knows that you know CPR, they feel more at ease and calm. Even strangers who will get to know that someone within the vicinity knows what to do will give them peace.

An Essential Starter in the Field of Health Care

Let us say that you are greatly interested in entering the field of healthcare but you are quite not sure where to start or you are still not sure if it is really what you want. Enrolling in a CPR class is a great way for you to be exposed to the industry of health care.

You will get to experience the vital basics of caring for one’s health in action!

Some of the things that you will learn include monitoring breathing, checking a pulse, and applying skills in practical situations. Moreover, if you love how fast-paced the environment is in CPR, then you would want to consider upgrading your skills and become an EMT or an Emergency Medical Technician.

Save Lives, Be a Hero

CPR is created with the ultimate goal of saving someone’s life when they are in a dangerous situation. Ultimately, when you learn CPR, you could be that hero a person needs to save his or her life.

It is an accepted fact that today, more natural and man-made disasters are happening, and taking CPR classes can help in lessening the impact of these issues in our society.

You could become the difference in someone’s life and death!

A disaster can strike anywhere at any time and if you were lucky enough to remain unscratched, then chances are that you might want to help others who weren’t as lucky as you were. The best way to do that is by providing first aid and other medical assistance before a more professional treatment can be carried out.

If you are not aware of how to provide first aid, it is advised that you take an online first aid and CPR class. This will prepare you on how to act under such situations and how to save lives. There are quite a few practices that you can learn in this class. They are mentioned below.

Be Cautious And Cover Yourself

It is extremely important that you are cautious and aware of your surroundings before jumping in to help someone else. The disaster could be anything from a fire to a flood or a hurricane. So, make sure to cover yourself up. Remember that you need to be safe before going to save anybody else. This practice will protect you which will further allow you to help as many people as you can.

Prevent Head Injuries

Head injuries are one of the biggest causes of death in case of a disaster. So watch out for head injuries of people and try to help them the best way in which you can. If you find some stable surface nearby then try to get help for that person and try to carry the injured individual away from the fire or the debris or whatever has resulted in the head injury of that individual.

Perform CPR

In case of a disaster, there are a lot of people who have trouble breathing and can collapse because of that. If you find someone in that situation, perform CPR on that person. You can acquire this skill by taking an online first aid and CPR class.

Stop The Bleeding

If someone near you is bleeding, the first thing you can do is try to stop that bleeding as soon as you can. Blood is a vital force for any human being and trying to stop the bleeding will give that individual a better chance to survive.

Get Medical Help

Do not forget that you are not a professional medical service provider. You probably will not be able to do anything beyond the first aid. So, call for help or try to get help as soon as possible. Even if you are a medical health professional, you might not have the right equipment or the correct amount of manpower to deal with such an emergency. Hence, always call for help.

These are the most important practices that you can perform to provide first aid and medical assistance to other individuals in case of a disaster.

Medical experts and rescuers know for a fact that once a person’s heart has stopped beating, it must be immediately taken care of for a higher chance of fully reviving them. Just after a few more minutes, all oxygen supply will run out from the patient’s body therefore there are no other possible ways on how to revive them.

Once a person has a heart that suddenly stopped beating, they are already categorized as clinically dead. However, in this state, they can still be treated if acted upon immediately.

Now the question is what is the length of time that a patient’s heart has to stop before it can no longer be treated?

The answer varies in accordance with the patient but the estimated time would be around thirty minutes. This is because as soon as the heart stops beating, blood flow inside the body would also slowly stop therefore it cannot supply the brain anymore with any oxygenated blood. If they are not supplied by oxygenated blood, their brain cells die within 4-6 minutes and if no medical attention is still given, the patient will be nearing their biological death which means that their brain has lost all the oxygen supply.

Although, there are still cases where a patient has survived after being left in the cold for 45 minutes after receiving cycles of chest compressions. This leads the American Heart Association to include the 95 Degrees Fahrenheit rule in their guidelines whereas it states that rescuers should continue to revive the patient until their core body temperature is above 95° Fahrenheit.

To learn more about the different basics and fundamentals of CPR, enroll for CPR Courses and training. Learning CPR today can bring a difference in the future.

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