CPR Mobile Phone Apps Save Lives by Reducing Fear of Failure

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  • 8/9/2019 CPR Mobile Phone Apps Save Lives by Reducing Fear of Failure

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    CPR APP REVIEW 1

    CPR Mobile Phone Apps Save Lives by Reducing Fear of Failure

    It is impossible to do under pressure what you have not practiced and

    mentally visualized a thousand times relaxed. Unpracticed CPR skills can

    dissipate within weeks, even for healthcare professionals. Without additional

    opportunity to review and reinforce CPR skills, an intensive four-hour basic

    CPR certification course is of diminishing value over time. CPR Training

    applications for the BlackBerry and iPhone opens a new, easy-to-use, avenue

    to refresh and review skills proven to save lives.

    According to the American Heart Association, there are more 300,000 deaths

    a year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) alone. These numbers are not just

    elderly folks with known heart disease. Sudden Cardiac Arrest strikes

    without warning. Each year, SCA is responsible for deaths of many who

    appear otherwise healthy, including young promising athletes, dancers,

    runners, and others who literally drop dead. Equipping the public with

    skillsand competency to perform basic life-sustaining CPR could double or

    triple the number of cardiac event survivors.

    Seconds count when someone has stopped breathing. With every second on

    the line, could you confidently leap to action, if a friend or loved one stopped

    breathing? There is no time to hesitate if you are first on the scene. It is the

    difference between life and death, and potentially the difference between a

    return to full function or permanent brain damage.

    Less than seven minutes without oxygen to the brain can spell permanent

    brain-damage or diminished functional capacity. Even the speediest

    Emergency Medical Services (EMS) rarely arrives on scene within those

    decisive seven minutes. Survival rates fall 7% to 10% for each minute

    without CPR. Yet, studies suggest only 15% to 30% ofcardiac arrest victims

    receive bystander CPR before EMS personnel arriveat the scene.i Why?

    What could explain such relatively few attempts to resuscitate? Whensomeone is already not breathing, what is there to lose? Why arent more

    bystanders attempting CPR?

    Various theories attempt to explain why bystanders hesitate to initiate CPR

    or even AED (automated external defibrillation). Researchers hypothesized

    bystanders failed toperform CPR for fear of incurring legal liability; however,

    the passage in most states of "Good Samaritan" legislation limiting liability

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    for rescuers has all but eliminated that concern. Researchers also theorized

    bystander reluctance stemmed from fear of exposure to infectious disease

    performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Recent surveys of people actually

    on the scene witnessing a cardiac event debunked that theory.

    Studies found one obstacle to the initiation of CPR is the complexity offollowing CPR guidelines, but even that is not the number one reason so few

    bystanders step up to perform CPR. Astoundingly, in surveys of actual

    bystanders to cardiac arrest, the most often-cited reason for declining to

    initiate CPR is fear of failure. This lack of confidence or fear of incorrectly

    performing CPR cost precious moments that could mean the difference

    between life and death. CPR Training readily available as a phone app,

    translates into an effortless opportunity to frequently review life-saving skills,

    so when an emergency arises, bystanders can jump in more confidently

    during those key moments awaiting professional medical services. In short,

    CPR Training for the iPhone and BlackBerry can save lives by helping to

    reduce or eliminate the fear of failure.

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    i(Abella, Aufderheide and Eigel)