Do you know what to do? Heart Attack

moose

Veteran Expediter
Yh'a, i would have known what to do, CPR training was mandatory for graduation in High school. also pool life guards . having 2 brothers that drive ambulances help me keep up, not to mention 2 very good friends here in Minnesota that are a full time firefighters .
This is also a great story :
Caught on camera: Man suffers heart attack, wife saves him | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon.
survival rates increase dramatically if there's an EMT near by, and an intensive care unit.
which can be bad luck for most of us professional drivers.
 

21cExp

Veteran Expediter
Makes you want to have an AED on-board, doesn't it? It stands for Automated External Defibrillator, which I did not know until I looked it up just now.

Had no idea they had advanced things to that degree. They run about $1100, looks like, and I wonder how available and common they are in public places.
 

usafk9

Veteran Expediter
They AED's) are a lot more common than you think, but still not common enough. Most malls have them near their major entrances. We had CPR training in CDL school, by a woman who used to ride in a truck with her husband, and lost him at a Meijer distribution center that had no AED. This portion of our training was very thorough, although mostly repetitive to me. She even went through sound ways for us to get, um, 'exercise' in a 72" sleeper for couples that are together.......if'n ya know what I mean. All excellent training from a woman who held the subject matter near and dear.

In a prior life, I was an emergency first aid and CPR instructor in the prison system here in Michigan. Public Act 415 requires 40 hours of annual in-service training for corrections staff with custodial responsibilities. I was one of the poor schmucks that had to annually recertify staff for CPR. When I started being a trainer, the rate of successful in-the-field (read=not in a clinical environment) CPR cases (where the victim was revived, or survived) was in the 6% range. AED's were fairly new. They are much more common now, but as I said before, still not common enough. I have personally performed CPR twice; the first for 44 1/2 minutes, the second for about half that. Ironically, the second was being awakened on a Sunday morning to be taken to the hospital for a scheduled heart valve replacement. Neither made it. I was the butt of jokes for quite some time...even during the annual training.

My best friend has suffered two heart attacks - the latter in the middle of the prison yard. Fortunately for him, he was one of the nicest and fairest prison staff around, and had an excellent rapport with the 'oldheads' (convicts that had been 'down' for a long time). One ran to a nearby building, and yelled for help. He is around today because of that, and because staff knew CPR.

I have often thought about starting CPR programs at truckstops, when we're laid over. Problem is, that doesn't happen much.:)

Free or very cheap CPR training is available at every American Red Cross office. Even though they frequently change their standards (can't make up their minds on rescue breath/chest compressions), the basics are still the same - ABC's. I encourage everyone in our industry to get this training. If you don't know where to go, PM me, and I will find the training for you.

A lot of us (myself included) are very sedentary in our expediting lives. A great first step in changing that is to get your butt out of that truck daily and get your heart pumping for at least 30 minutes.

I've never been to a truck show, or the Expo, but am wondering out loud if anything like driver health and first aid/CPR is demonstrated or taught there. Maybe something to consider?
 

moose

Veteran Expediter
Don'tch you even start !
before you know it someone will find a way to make money off of this,
and someone will lobby to make it 'mandatory'.
(see 1st observer,Hwy watch,TAT,A.L coil testing,twic card...ext.)
 

BobWolf

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
As an ALS tech. here are the real world survival %s and living a somewhat normal life.

Heart attack taking place you go down and Code.

Compressions and rescue breathing.
1 No CPR 0%
2 Poor immediate CPR 0% - 5%
3 Good immediate CPR even with defibrilation 5 - 7%
4 Good immediate CPR with a basic EMS unit with defibrilator on location 10- 15%
5 Good immediate CPR with an ACLS / Perimedic unti on location, IV, Tubed, Medications administered, manual defibrilator, monitoring, 15- 25%.
These are not awsome odds but its better than 0%.

In the best case you go home with some minor limitations. If it dosent go right you may be a vegitable, or live long enough to let your loved ones say goodbye.
It gives the basic CPR card holder another tool or at least the feeling that they did somthing witch is better than doing nothing at all. I support public AEDs, learning and staying skilled in CPR and first aid.
 

usafk9

Veteran Expediter
Don'tch you even start !
before you know it someone will find a way to make money off of this,
and someone will lobby to make it 'mandatory'.
(see 1st observer,Hwy watch,TAT,A.L coil testing,twic card...ext.)

Guess you'll have to forgive me, Moose, but I'll keep beating the CPR training 'drum' until I'm dead.

Maybe you overlooked the part about my best friend being alive because of it. Aside from my wife, he is the most trustable person on this planet that I know.

Here's a question: Do you know CPR?
 

usafk9

Veteran Expediter
As an ALS tech. here are the real world survival %s and living a somewhat normal life.

Heart attack taking place you go down and Code.

Compressions and rescue breathing.
1 No CPR 0%
2 Poor immediate CPR 0% - 5%
3 Good immediate CPR even with defibrilation 5 - 7%
4 Good immediate CPR with a basic EMS unit with defibrilator on location 10- 15%
5 Good immediate CPR with an ACLS / Perimedic unti on location, IV, Tubed, Medications administered, manual defibrilator, monitoring, 15- 25%.
These are not awsome odds but its better than 0%.

In the best case you go home with some minor limitations. If it dosent go right you may be a vegitable, or live long enough to let your loved ones say goodbye.
It gives the basic CPR card holder another tool or at least the feeling that they did somthing witch is better than doing nothing at all. I support public AEDs, learning and staying skilled in CPR and first aid.


Could not have said it better.
 

BobWolf

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
One thing for the ladies out there.
Women dont typicaly have the crushing chest pain found more often in men wich leaves them more likely to die in a pre hospital enviroment.
If you have indigestion for no reason or flue symptoms and its not flu season, get it checked out most female patents say "it just dosent feel right."

Had it happen on a call once female patient thought it was the flu good vitals followed a gut feeling and found her having a heart attack.
 
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moose

Veteran Expediter
Oh,AJ, ill forgive you very much.
am an expert in forgiving for individuals that take EMT very serious, IF you read my 1st post you'll see why.
i'd actually encourage you to continue beating it, go ahead it is a good thing.
all i ask is that at the same time you'll keep reminding everyone, each time you are beating, that such training MUST remain OPTIONAL.
if you read the examples i provided in the ( ) you will see that they are ALL good for our industry.
however, ALL of them magically founds it's way to become a MANDATORY part of driving a truck. with the underwriters making money out of such programs and loudly refused to make them optional.
lets just say that as an experienced consumer, i am skeptic of your intention of stop promoting CPR training if you see this becomes mandatory.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
Like AJ, I have performed CPR - only mine was unfortunately successful. I say unfortunately because the 'victim' was a junkie who'd overdosed, and I feel the world would have been a better place without him.
Still, I am in favor of drivers [and people in all walks of life] learning how to do CPR, because the life YOU save might be worth it. And if the 'mouth to mouth' part has you hesitating, you can just do the chest compressions - keeping the blood circulating is critical. If you can find a class, it's well worth the time to learn.
 

usafk9

Veteran Expediter
FWIW, the first guy was a safecracker. That's a life felony in Michigan. Second guy was a "tree jumper"...pen slang for pedophile, who had an indeterminate sentence. Guess someone higher than my pay grade decided it was time for him to go.
 

BigCat

Expert Expediter
I would love to have CPR training but I guess the reason I haven't done it yet because I would remember the ones that it didn't help as much as I remember the ones it would save. Definately may take a course just to have if needed.

At the same time I'm like moose I think it should be optional.


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