CPR guidelines updated to stress rescue breaths for drowning victims

Drowning is top cause of death in young children; experts say new CPR rules could save lives

Drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. CPR can be lifesaving and now, experts have updated the guidelines on how to perform it for drowning victims.

What happened to 3-year-old Judah Brown could happen to any family. His mother, Christi, says Judah slipped away at a friend’s barbecue and got into the pool. When they found him several minutes later, he wasn’t breathing. Bystanders tried to resuscitate him with chest compressions, but didn’t give rescue breaths.

“I do believe if he had gotten those breaths, if we had known to do those breaths, then he possibly could have survived his drowning,” said Christi Brown, founder of the Judah Brown Project.

Until recently, CPR guidelines for drowning victims focused on chest compressions. But now, the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics say rescue breaths are also critical.

“It makes a difference,” said Dr. Cameron Dezfulian of Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Dezfulian explained that both compressions and breathing are necessary for saving lives.

“Somebody who drowned, and then their heart stopped, the reason it stopped is there was no oxygen. So if you don’t somehow provide that oxygen back, it’s really not all that helpful to circulate the deoxygenated blood throughout their body,” he said.

Michael Smith of the American Heart Association teaches CPR and demonstrates the updated process.

“Let’s say we’ve got a drowning victim here, under the new guidelines, what do we do?” Smith said.

“I’m going right into compressions. Right in the center of the chest, I’m pushing down at least 2 inches at a rate of 100 to 120 a minute.”

After 30 compressions, he starts rescue breaths.

“Pinch the nose, tilt the head back, one breath, two breaths,” Smith explained.

Christi Brown now leads the Judah Brown Project, which educates parents and children about drowning prevention. She says the change is long overdue.

“We in the drowning prevention community have long time believed that the rescue breaths are absolutely necessary for resuscitation after drowning,” she said.

Experts say every parent should be CPR trained.