New Rules of CPR

Geezer has some doubts about the claim, by the University of Washington School of Medicine, that cardiopulmonary resuscitation, "which was mentioned in the Bible, fell out of practice until it was rediscovered in the 1950s," but whatever. Geezer is not a historian of medical practices.  CPR was definitely taught in the 1960’s, when Geezer hoped that the required training for a Red Cross Ski Patrol certification would get him a few free lift passes. And it was taught in much the same way last summer, when Geezer’s son was trained by SOLO and the Appalachian Mountain Club.  Now, however, CPR training has changed. The American Heart Association is persuaded that it’s better to push down on the chest of a victim of cardiac arrest 30 times for every two breaths blown into that person’s mouth, than it is to push down the previously recommended 15 times for every two breaths. The changes, reported by the Associated Press, reflect the AHA’s conviction that it’s better to pump a person’s chest as hard and fast as possible than to worry about coordinating mouth-to-mouth breathing with a specific number of chest compressions. The association makes it clear that the best thing that can happen is for all of us to take a lesson or two in CPR. Done properly, CPR can double the chances of survival for the victim of a heart attack. Learn more about CPR here.