Many lives could be saved if the first aid gestures were better known to the population, starting with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or cardiac massage. We detail the steps to follow.
- In France, 47% of people are trained in first aid. But only one in five who attends a cardiac arrest would be able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to official figures from the Red Cross.
- The frequency of chest compressions should be 100 per minute, or two per second. To maintain such a rhythm, just keep in mind that of the Bee Gees disco hit “Stayin’ Alive”: it is the perfect tempo for a cardiac massage, according to the American Heart Association.
How to react in the face of cardiac arrest? The ideal would of course be never to have to answer it in practice, but the question deserves attention in theory at least. Each year in France, approximately 40,000 people die of cardiac arrest. “More than 90% of arrests took place at home, with witnesses who generally did not initiate first aid and longer response times”can we read on the website of the French Federation of Cardiology (FCF). Practicing manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation would however increase the chances of survival of victims by 30 to 40%, according to studies. Here is a user manual for this gesture that saves.
Call the emergency services and verify that it is a cardiac arrest
If you witness a person collapsing in front of you with their hand on their chest, the first thing to do is to call or have someone call for help by dialing 15, 18 or 112 in Europe. Cardiac massage is only a way, while waiting for the Samu teams, to continue to “beat” the heart and send blood to the brain to oxygenate it, while waiting for the Samu teams. You have to act quickly: during a stoppage, brain damage occurs from the first minute. Lay the person on their back, make them bare-chested, tearing the clothes off if necessary, kneel next to them. If the victim has no more breath or if his chest does not move, it is indeed a cardiac arrest. Proceed with the massage, staying in line with the emergency services who can guide you.
Compress the chest 30 times in a row
Place your hands on top of each other, fingers crossed, in the middle of the victim’s chest. Your arms should be straight. Then compress the sternum and push it down 5 to 6 cm (don’t go too hard!), pressing with your whole body. After each pressure, let the chest return to its original position. Compression time should be equal to release time.
Repeat this for 30 compressions. Their frequency should be 100 per minute, or two per second. To keep such a rhythm, you just have to have in mind the Bee Gees disco hit “Stayin’ Alive”: it is the perfect tempo for a cardiac massage, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). This recommendation was the subject of an official campaign in the United Kingdom, which can be seen in this video both fun and educational.
Perform 2 mouth-to-mouth rescues
Mouth-to-mouth, although discussed, is still recommended by the Red Cross in the event of cardiac arrest, but only if you are trained! Otherwise “you could endanger the victim’s chances of survival”, alert the association. To practice it: tilt the victim’s head backwards, lift their chin, place a hand on their forehead and pinch their nostrils, cover the victim’s mouth entirely with yours, blow air into their mouth while watching good for his chest to heave. Start again – a second time, no more.
Keep the rhythm without stopping
Continue this frequency of massage and mouth-to-mouth – 30 compressions and 2 breaths – without stopping until help takes over. It’s essential: for every minute without stimulation, the chances of survival without brain damage decrease by 5%, according to the AHA.
Finally, note that if you have an automated external defibrillator (AED), it is strongly recommended to use it in parallel with the massage, in order to restore the heart rate. The Red Cross details all the steps in pictures on his site.