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From: wdp@uvacs.UUCP (Bill Paris)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: CPR, First Aid, & Liability
Message-ID: <151@uvacs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Feb-86 14:55:30 EST
Article-I.D.: uvacs.151
Posted: Sat Feb  8 14:55:30 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Feb-86 05:06:50 EST
References: <2505@gatech.CSNET> <31200032@uiucdcs>
Reply-To: wdp@uvacs.UUCP (Bill Paris)
Organization: U.Va. CS dept.  Charlottesville, VA
Lines: 41
Summary: 

In article <31200032@uiucdcs> medley@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
>
>Just a quick word - my ex-husband was involved in cpr-type rescues
>twice, and in both cases the results were a living person instead
>of a dead one.  He never had any training at all in cpr, just had
>heard vague things about pounding the chest and holding the nose while
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> .........
>............  Moral:  even if you don't know aything, most people would
>probably prefer a chance at life, and you should try to give it to them.

EEEEEEEEEEK!  Your ex was very lucky on several counts:

1.  The person was revived:  Only very rarely does a person live after
    his/her heart stops beating.  Many doctors (undocumented) have performed
    CPR on countless occasions without the victim ever being revived afterward.
2.  How did your ex know the two people's hearts had stopped?  Many people
    still wrongly believe that feeling for pulse at the wrist is an 
    effective way to determine if one's heart is beating.  You can KILL
    someone whose heart is beating by performing CPR on them--either
    by disrupting the heart/circulation or by squashing a rib into his/her
    liver.  Even when CPR is performed correctly, the victim is likely
    to have internal damage and numerous broken ribs.

I suppose your ex should be commended for acting in these situations--many
people panic and refuse to do anything (probably this would be my first
reaction).  And if my heart suddenly stopped, yes I would prefer that
anyone, even if they really didn't know what he/she was doing, try "CPR"
ONLY IF it was evident that no one trained in CPR could be on the scene
within 5 minutes.  But, if I collapsed for no apparent reason, the last
thing I would ever want is some rookie giving me CPR.  What if I had simply
fainted?

The standard plea:  Call the Red Cross, American Heart Association, your
local hospital, community college, etc. and take a CPR course.  It takes
SIX hours, and they usually teach you how to save both child and
adult choking victims too.  And who hasn't been witness to a near tragedy
where a child choked on some meat or candy...

Bill Paris