Reddit, today I saved someone's life with CPR. I'm wondering what the success rate of CPR is, does it always work or was I just lucky?

I was walking down the road when I saw a man just kind of collapse. He staggered , leaned against a fence and then slid to the ground. I ran over to him and shouted him, I slapped him the the face (which I now feel kinda guilty about) and realised something was seriously wrong.

I remembered what I learnt about CPR from high school, and tilted his head back to open his airways. I out my ear next to his mouth, but from what I could tell he wasn't breathing. I started pushing on his chest, counting up to 30, then blew 2 breaths into his mouth.

After about 3 or 4 minutes of this a woman showed up and phoned an ambulance.

I was sure he was dead, because from what I've seen on television about CPR the victim springs to life after a few seconds, but I kept going until the paramedics turned up.

I got in the ambulance while they took him to hospital, and after an hour or 2 a doctor came out to tell me that he had stabalized. He had went into cardiac arrest and he said that if I hadn't performed CPR the man would probably be dead.

I left without seeing him, I kinda regret that now..

Anyway, I'm just wondering if I was lucky? How often does CPR work?

TDLR: saves a dudes life with cpr, curious about it.

swiffer10 years ago I've been an EMT for about 7 years, and a CPR instructor for 4. What you did today was awesome. I hate exactly what you saw on TV - generally what your going to do with CPR is keep things circulating (and alive), until advanced care can take over. In 7 years, I've had two long term saves - one I was working my non EMS job, and a co worker collapsed, the other when a bystander started CPR immediately. By the time we get there in an ambulance, the odds of survival are VERY slim if CPR hasn't already been started..Overall, the odds are > 50% if the event is witnessed, CPR is started within 3-5 minutes, and EMS arrives within 8-12 minutes. In cities where these things rarely happen (NYC) the survival rate is 1-2%.This page lists a lot of the statistics that I used in this post, and has some additional information. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?iden... your story today will encourage others to learn CPR, and provide assistance in an emergency.

DistantCube10 years ago edited 10 years ago Basic Life Support can be remembered by "DR. ABCD" - it should be everyone's social responsibility to know this if not ALS D: check for danger R: check for a response A: clear airways B: check for breathing C: begin compressions at roughly 2 per second, 30 at a time with 2 breaths in between D: defibrillate if available

[deleted]10 years ago can you recommend some online video for those of us who haven't taken a course, for those "just in case" times where we're the only one around?

[deleted]10 years ago I'm confused. Since you're an EMT perhaps you can tell me: Aren't you supposed to check for a pulse before you commence compressing someone's chest? I thought it went...no breaths, yes pulse: rescue breaths only no breaths, no pulse: rescue breaths + compressions

BlackbeltJones10 years ago What he said. I did volunteer ambulance for our state college. We picked up soooo many kids who had thoroughly poisoned themselves with alcohol. CPR does save lives. Unless you're a coroner, don't pronounce anyone dead. Keep at it until someone trained (the guy with the stretcher) tells you to stop.

[deleted]10 years ago Never had to use it, but the way I was taught, CPR doesn't work, but it keeps the person alive-ish until something that does work can arrive.

wedgiey110 years ago They're planning on changing the 30 compressions 2 breaths to something like 50 compressions and one (?) breath aren't they?

quazimodo10 years ago What are you meant to do if someone is bleeding a lot? Surely CPR will pump the blood out of their body? What would you advise the lay person if such a situation arised? Well done to OP. I just read a news article stating that a man collapsed and no one helped him for two hours in the UK, assumed he was drunk. He died. If only there were more people like you out there.

Tartantyco10 years ago

I was sure he was dead, because from what I've seen on television about CPR the victim springs to life after a few seconds, but I kept going until the paramedics turned up.This is what you should do. CPR is mostly a way of artificially maintaining some circulation and providing oxygen until medical personnel show up, it almost never "brings someone back to life" like in the movies. You did exactly the right thing keeping it up. Thank you.

Oglshrub10 years ago This is true. The only way to restart a heart is from an electrical shock (defibrillator if the heart is in fibrillation). CPR just keeps oxygen going through until one arrives.

Enfors10 years ago 5 years ago, my dad suffered a heart attack during a golf competition. Two people started doing CPR on him, while a third person called 112 (the European 911).I talked to the ones who had done CPR on my dad afterwards. They both said that they thought it was pointless, that my dad was already dead. But the guy on the phone with 112 kept telling them (as instructed by the 112 operator) to keep going. After 20 minutes, the ambulance (actually, 3 of them, plus an extra heart specialist in a separate care) showed up and took over. They worked on my father for another 45 minutes before taking him into the ambulance and sped towards the hospital. In the end, my father survived. If it hadn't been for those people who wouldn't give up on the CPR even though it seemed hopeless, then I would be fatherless, and my kids wouldn't have their grandfather. I've made sure they know how grateful I am for this, and so has my father.

[deleted]10 years ago Canadian 

St. John Ambulance First Aid Instructor and Red Cross First Responder here. A lot of the stuff in this thread is good information (from the medics), but there seem to be a lot of questions too.OP: You did a good thing. You mention regret at leaving him - I think you should speak to someone face to face about the situation. Someone who's been there before. It doesn't need to be a shrink or a therapist, it could be a paramedic or a fireman or something. Just someone who can tell you face-to-face that you did the right thing (you did), and that you're a good person, and that you need not feel regret. There's no replacement for a good first aid class, but I can hopefully clear up a few things: The idea behind compressions-only CPR is that a person having a heart attack will likely gasp and breathe for themselves. This means, however, that only a witnessed event like that in the OP can benefit from this. If you walk in and the person is already unconscious, they're going to need the respirations, so that heart-pumping you're doing for them has oxygen to move around their body. Otherwise, there's no point. As a catch-all policy then, to simplify it, you're taught to always do cycles of 30 compressions and 2 ventilations. Pulse checks still exist (at least in Canada) for a certification level called "HCP" - health care professionals. The reason they removed it for everyone else is that people weren't checking it properly, or were feeling their own pulse thundering in their ears (with adrenaline and all), and also because it was causing people to get all caught up in the details of "do they have a pulse? I'm not entirely 100% sure", and CPR was being delayed or not done at all. The rule now is, if they're not breathing, they need to be given either treatment for choking or CPR. A first aid course will tell you how to tell which to give, and how to do it.In Canada at least, the good samaritan law will protect a first aider from getting their pants sued off. There are some conditions: You must obtain consent from the casualty (or their parent/guardian if they are a child). If they are unconscious, you still ask, and when they do not answer it is called implied consent. You must give care to the best of your ability, but not beyond your ability or training. If you have a higher level of training and in your nervousness you revert to a lower level, that's ok. Just don't skip "up" levels. You must not abandon the casualty until relieved by medical help, or until the casualty tells you they no longer need your services. If things are unsafe (ie a burning building and they're pinned under a beam), you can step outside to keep yourself safe, but stick around to call for help. That's still being helpful, and not abandoning them. Remember that you (the first aider) are the priority. Your safety is paramount. If someone's hurt and you injure yourself helping them, then not only are they screwed, you've also just doubled the casualty count. Basically, once you've got consent, you're stuck to them till the show's over. If you don't feel safe becoming involved, you don't have to, except in the province of Quebec, where you have to help.All of this is covered in great detail in any first aid course. None of what I have said can ever take the place of a first aid course. I am an instructor, but just knowing what I've put here doesn't properly equip you to help someone who needs it. I strongy urge everyone to get properly trained. Courses are usually one or two day events, and certifications last anywhere from one to three years. If you live in Canada, and want to learn first aid, contact these folks: St. John Ambulance Canada The Canadian Red Cross

gemini_dream10 years ago For a single individual assisting a victim, ccr is more effective, because then the chest compressions are not interrupted for breaths. If you have two or more people working on a patient, then the combination of continuous compressions and ventilation is better. Think about how long you can hold your breath versus how long you can go without a heartbeat and you'll see why continuous compressions are so important...

froschkonig10 years ago For the normal person, yes CCR is better; if you're a professional rescuer, then the breaths will be better. The thoughts behind this are the professional rescuer is much more used to this procedure and will have to think about the next step less than the lay(normal) rescuer. Also, if you think about it, during the chest compressions, the lungs will undergo a small exhalation and inhalation process strictly from the compressions so a little bit of air is getting exchanged even without breaths.1ShareReportSave level 1[deleted]10 years agoi did CPR about three years ago and lost the pt. I was one of his counselors in an inpatient recovery center. That day has never left me. I still have awful nightmares and have completely abandoned counseling. I obviously didn't have well established boundries. People always ask if I would do it again. I without a doubt would. His mother's tearful "thank you for trying" was enough for me to sacrifice every night of sleep I'll ever have.

fuzzysarge10 years ago My brother was a medic for 7 years. He brought three people back using CPR, a 89 year man who died a few weeks later; a 25 year old women who became a vegetable, and me when I was 18 months old. After dinner he skipped out of kitchen duty to go upstairs to his room, and found that I was blue, performed CPR on me and brought me back. He learned CPR in Boy Scouts the week before. An other time, my sister in law was driving down the road and saw a middle aged man prone on the side of the road. His wife was crying hysterically next to him. My sister in law determined that he was having a heart attack. She performed CPR on him till the boo-boo box showed up. She commented that he had the worst breath she had ever smelled. About a year latter she was at her job at a doctors office, when a random middle-aged guy with horrible breath just randomly gave her a hug and said thank you for saving my life. He instantly recognized her. When she first saw him he had no pulse, and was unconscious the entire time and she never left her contact info with the EMTs, yet he knew who she was.

my79spirit10 years ago My buddy, Dan, was an ER tech for a few years at a Level 1 trauma center. My favorite story of his was a 50+ year old lawyer who came in with cardiac arrest. Dan was doing CPR, but this guy was so huge he was trying to do it on an incline. Someone had put ultrasound jell all over the guys' chest (I think he had a pacemaker that was malfunctioning....) to look inside. So Dan's trying to push and just keeps slipping off like jello in a bouncy castle. He was laughing so hard, as were the other techs that they never got the guy back.

dalpal10 years ago As a lifeguard who has used CPR on someone, CPR isnt really what saves them. When you're giving CPR, and actually having to breath and pump their blood for them, they are technically dead, all you're doing is temporarily keeping oxygen and blood pumping through them. Normally CPR won't bring a person back to life on its own, it is just used to keep their body alive until something that actually can bring them back alive (AED, ambulance, EMTs) gets to the person.

thermo12310 years ago I did that once years ago and was successful. It was my first ever 12-step call in AA. We had a call from a woman who wanted us to talk to her son. Me and my sponsor were driving over and I asked him what I should say. He handed me a Big Book and told me to read it. Unfortunately it didn't cover what we found. When we pulled in a woman came screaming out the front door asking for help...maybe she thought we were EMTs or something or probalby she didn't know or care. Anyway, her son (an alcoholic) had drunk on antabuse and I guess had a seizure or something. Anyway, whatever...he had stopped breathing. Remembering my 8th grade health class I tilted his head back and started the breathing. My sponsor beat his chest in between....I don't know that we ever checked his pulse. It was a lot of fun because he was covered in puke. After awhile he opened his eyes and looked up at me (obviously very confused about where he was, who this guy was, and why he was kissing him. Just at that moment the EMTs arrived. They told me I had saved his life. I saw the guy at a meeting a little later. We were both very uncomfortable and didn't really want to talk to each other when my sponsor pulled us together to introduce. Epilogue: he started drinking again and was dead in a short time, I don't remember the cause.

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Reddit, today I saved someones life with CPR. I'm wondering what the success rate of CPR is, does it always work or was I just lucky? : AskReddit