Dr Kalio James, a retired cardiologist has said that it is important for all Nigerians to learn how to do a cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
In an interview on Sunday in Abuja, James said that having an individual around who has the knowledge of CPR could be the difference between life and death of a victim.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure that combines chest compression often with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve brain function.
“It is sad that we see many patients being rushed to the hospital with cases of preventable brain damage or even death when a simple CPR at the moment of their emergency could have saved them.
“It is important to administer CPR once you noticed that an unconscious individual isn’t breathing or has a very weak or no pulse.
“The CPR should continue to be administered while the person is being rushed to the hospital or while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance.
“When performing CPR, you should lay the victim on the floor and place your palms together, one over the other, and place them on the centre of the victim’s chest.
“When you start compression, you have to use your upper body weight to press down on their chest.
“You have to do the compression 100-120 times per minute and pause between minutes to see if the person begins breathing.”
He added that there were sometimes that mouth to mouth resuscitation was needed as it seemed to be more effective in reviving a victim.
“Sometimes, breathing into the patient’s chest through the mouth is needed as a way to supply air to the individual.
“The process is known as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation which is known to improve the survival chances of people who suffer things like sudden cardiac arrest.
“You should raise the chin of the patient and open their mouth slightly.
“After every 30 chest compressions at a rate of two compressions per second, blow two deep breaths into the patient’s mouth and watch as the chest rises then begin compressions again.
“This should be done until a pulse is felt, the patient begins to breathe or till the patient arrives at the hospital.
“However, this shouldn’t be done on someone while they are having a heart attack. It can only be done if the person collapses and stops breathing after the attack.”
James said that when compression are being done on a child, only one hand should be used and if on an infant, the tip of the fingers should be used to prevent breaking the chest. (NAN)
