First Aid - Do's During Heart Attack

Do's during heart attack:

• Patient should be made to  sit down, rest, and try to keep calm.
• Loosen any tight clothing.
• Ask if the patient takes any chest pain medication for a known heart condition, such as nitroglycerin, and help him take it.
• If the pain does not go away with rest or within 3 minutes of taking nitroglycerin, call for emergency medical help.
• If the person is unconscious and unresponsive, call for emergency and should begin CPR.

Don'ts during heart attack:

• Do not leave the patient alone 
• Do not allow the person to deny the symptoms .
• Do not wait to see if the symptoms go away.
• Do not give the person anything by mouth unless a heart medication (such as nitroglycerin) has been prescribed.

CPR(Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation): It is an emergency lifesaving procedure. It is a combination of:

• Chest compressions that keeps patient's blood circulating.
• Rescue breathing that provides oxygen to patient's lungs.

Chest compressions:

• Place the heel of one hand on the lower half of the person’s breastbone.
• Place the other hand on top of the first hand and interlock your fingers.
• Press down firmly and smoothly (compressing to 1/3 of chest depth) 30 times.
• Administer 2 breaths as described below in mouth-to-mouth,
• The ratio of 30 chest compressions followed by 2 breaths is the same, whether CPR is being performed alone or with the assistance of a second person.
• Aim for a compression rate of 100 per minute.

Effective chest compressions will be tiring. It is important to get help from others if possible, to allow changeover for rest and to keep the compressions effective.

Mouth-to-mouth Respiration:

• If the patient is not breathing normally, make sure he is lying on his back on a firm surface
• Open the airway by tilting the head back and lifting his chin.
• Close his nostrils with your finger and thumb.
• Put your mouth over the patient’s mouth and blow into his mouth.
• Give 2 full breaths to the patient (this is called ‘rescue breathing’). Make sure there is no air leak and the chest is rising and falling. If his chest does not rise and fall, check that you’re pinching his nostrils tightly and sealing your mouth to his. If still no breathing, check airway again for any obstruction.
• Continue CPR, repeating the cycle of 30 compressions then 2 breaths until professional help arrives. 

CPR for children aged 1-8 years:

• Use the heel of one hand only for compressions, compressing to one third of chest depth.
• Follow the basic steps for performing CPR described above.

CPR for infant (up to 12 months of age):

• Place the infant on his back. Do not tilt his head back or lift his chin (this is not necessary as their heads are still large in comparison to their bodies).
• Perform mouth-to-mouth by covering the infant’s nose and mouth with your mouth – remember to use only a small breath.
• Do chest compressions, using two fingers of one hand, to about one third of chest depth.
• Follow the basic steps for performing CPR described above.

Q. When should we stop CPR?

Generally CPR is stopped, when:

• The patient's revives and starts breathing on its own
• When medical help arrives
• When the person giving CPR is exhausted