This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or
CPR, can save the life of someone whose heart has stopped. The condition is
called cardiac arrest. The heart stops pumping blood. The person stops
breathing. Without lifesaving measures, the brain starts to die within four to
six minutes.
CPR combines breathing into the victim's mouth and repeated presses on the
chest. CPR keeps blood and oxygen flowing to the heart and brain.
However, a new Japanese study questions the usefulness of mouth-to-mouth
breathing.
The study was published in the British medical magazine, The Lancet. Doctors
in Tokyo led the research. It examined more than four thousand people who had
suffered cardiac arrest. In all the cases, witnesses saw the event happen.
More than one thousand of the victims received some kind of medical
assistance from witnesses. Seven hundred and twelve received CPR. Four hundred
and thirty-nine received chest presses only. No mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths
were given to them.
The researchers say any kind of CPR improved chances of the patient's
survival. But, they said those people treated with only chest presses suffered
less brain damage. Twenty-two percent survived with good brain ability. Only ten
percent of the victims treated with traditional CPR survived with good brain
ability.
The American Heart Association changed its guidelines for CPR chest presses
in 2005. It said people should increase the number of chest presses from fifteen
to thirty for every two breaths given.
Gordon Ewy is a heart doctor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine
in Tucson. He wrote a report that appeared with the study. Doctor Ewy thinks the
CPR guidelines should be changed again. He said the heart association should
remove rescue breaths from the guidelines.
He argues that more witnesses to cardiac arrests would provide treatment if
rescue breaths are not a part of CPR. He says this would save lives. Studies
show that many people do not want to perform mouth-to-mouth breathing on a
stranger for fear of getting a disease.
Cardiac arrest kills more than 300,000 people in the United States every
year. The American Heart Association says about ninety-five percent of victims
die before they get to a medical center.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm
Bob Doughty.
cardiopulmanory resuscitation :心肺復(fù)蘇
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