Trained bystanders, EMS specialists increase cardiac arrest survival chances
In Harrison and Hancock counties, our local out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate is higher than the national average. This is an important and encouraging metric in general, but significantly so due to the fact that heart disease remains the number-one cause of death in the region. So what have we, as a community, done to boost these numbers, and what can we do to improve further?

Bystander CPR Training: According to the American Heart Association (AHA), CPR, if performed immediately, can double or even triple the chance of survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This means it’s critical that CPR is performed by a trained citizen, even while EMS is in route to the scene.

American Medical Response (AMR) established an AHA Training Center in Gulfport in the 1990s. Since 2020, AMR has trained more than 8,000 people in CPR techniques that can keep blood flowing to a cardiac arrest victim’s brain and vital organs in the time it takes for first responders to arrive. Those minutes can make the difference between life and death, and bystanders constitute the first link in the chain of survival. AMR hopes to continue growing this community program in the future, training thousands more to be ready at a moment’s notice, and further increasing survival rates.

Highly Trained EMS Teams Focused on Heart Health: In AMR’s nearly 50 years of service to Gulf Coast residents, there has been an ever-increasing focus on heart health by our local EMS medical teams. This begins with a round-the-clock network of Emergency Medical Dispatchers trained to quickly inform and dispatch first responders to the scene of medical emergencies, like cardiac arrest. While AMR teams are en route to the medical emergency, the Emergency Medical Dispatchers are trained to provide CPR instructions over the phone until help arrives. AMR has a strategically located dispatch center in Gulfport, which serves Harrison, Hancock and four other Mississippi counties, as well as two Louisiana parishes. This center is critical to quick response and passing on vital information to the on-rushing AMR medical teams.

And those teams, themselves, are armed with the latest technologies and trainings to help cardiac arrest victims survive their medical crisis. In fact, the knowledge and expertise of AMR’s Harrison and Hancock County first responders have been recognized by the AHA with its highest award, Mission: Lifeline Gold. Launched in 2014, Mission: Lifeline EMS recognition is a program designed to showcase pre-hospital agencies nationwide for excellence in heart attack and stroke care. “Gold” is the AHA’s ultimate standard of care and honors AMR’s skilled and dedicated EMS practitioners, recognizing their critical role in the chain of survival for these patients, with their actions setting the course for better patient outcomes.

Warning-Sign Recognition: Of course, the best result is to recognize an impending cardiac arrest before it becomes critical. To that end, AMR takes its role as a community partner and source of medical information seriously. Safety resources are available on a wide variety of health issues, including cardiac arrest warning signs, on its website at https://www.amr.net/resources/safety-information. But it’s always good to review the basics:

• CHEST PAIN: Most heart attacks cause discomfort or pain in the center of the chest that can last for several minutes. The pain may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• DISCOMFORT IN OTHER AREAS OF THE UPPER BODY: This can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• SHORTNESS OF BREATH: Difficulty breathing often accompanies constricting chest pains but can also be a symptom on its own.

If you or someone you’re with has chest discomfort, especially with one or more of the signs of a heart attack, call 911 immediately. It’s a phone call that could save a life.

We’ve come a long way in 50 years. In partnership, communities and EMS providers like AMR are taking strides to curb the staggering death rates associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. By working together in the future, we can continue these encouraging results.