Their Heart Stops: Now What?
An interview with Carol McMillan, Health and Safety Trainer
By Shawn Greene from Savage and Greene
Download interview as Word file.
Interviewer: Carol, you’ve shared a lot of great safety information with me and I thought other chapter members could use the info, too. Let’s say I’m facilitating some training and suddenly one of the students drops to the floor, seemingly unconscious. What should I do?
Carol: Try to be less boring!
Interviewer: [laughing] I took CPR years ago and I’ve seen it done a million times on TV. Should I start CPR or would that be a bad idea?
Carol: You should always do something. The first thing you should do is to check for responsiveness by tapping on the person and shouting “Are you OK?” Don’t be shy or halfway about this. Your shouting may also alert others that there is an emergency. See if you can rouse them. If there is no response, call 911 right away. If you can have someone else call, do that.
Interviewer: Shouldn’t I check to see if the person is breathing or something so I can tell the 911 operator? Vital signs and all that?
Carol: No. Absolutely not. An unconscious person is an emergency, all by itself. Aside from trying to rouse the person, do not take time to try to figure things out. Just tell the emergency operator that you don’t know and he or she will help you by telling you what to do.
Now let’s say you don’t have access to a phone in the training room and you are by yourself – just you and the person in trouble. You should leave the person and call 911. Do not hesitate. Go call 911.
Interviewer: Leave the person lying there?!
Carol: Yes. Go. Fly like the wind. You want to get emergency help on the way as quickly as possible. That is the most important thing to do.
Once you get 911, the operator will probably ask you several questions and may ask if you know CPR. Like I said, he or she will also tell you what to do next.
Interviewer: Including how to do CPR if I’m willing to try it?
Carol: Possibly, that varies a lot. If the operator gives you instructions, he or she may use the same memory-device we use in CPR training: ABC. Here’s what ABC stands for:
Airway: Tilt the head back to open the airway.
Breathing: Check to see if they are breathing by looking at their chest, listening and feeling to see if they are breathing. If they are breathing, turn them on their side to prevent choking.
If they are not breathing, then you need to do mouth-to-mouth and give two slow breaths. Just two. Remember to keep the head tilted back and pinch the nose shut as you give the two breaths. Then move on to the “C” which stands for circulation or pulse.
Interviewer: Doesn’t the “C” stand for “CPR”?
Carol: Technically, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation is the action of pumping on their chest and giving them breaths, but if it helps you to remember it then go ahead and think “CPR” for the “C.”
Circulation or CPR: Do they have a pulse? Check the big vein on the side of their neck (the carotid artery) for a pulse. If they’ve got a pulse but aren’t breathing, then just do mouth-to-mouth: one breath every 5 seconds. Be prepared to keep going until help arrives, and check the pulse periodically in case you need to add compressions.
If they are not breathing and do not have a pulse, you must do CPR: mouth-to-mouth and compressions (pump and blow). On someone 8 years old and up, do 15 compressions and then give them two slow breaths. Once you start CPR, you’ll have to keep doing it until the emergency medical help arrives.
Interviewer: What about if they are breathing but don’t have a pulse? What then?
Carol: That’s not possible; first the breathing stops then the heart stops.
Interviewer: Okay. Carol, you said we would have to keep going until help arrives. Is there a special point you want to make?
Carol: Several, actually. You should know that it’s not like TV where the person will suddenly rouse themselves and all is well. Not usually, anyway. You have to continue mouth-to-mouth and compressions until the emergency medical help arrives. Your goal is not to revive the person, it is to sustain the person until help arrives.
I also want to mention that if the person is not breathing and does not have a pulse you should at least do compressions even if you don’t want to do mouth-to-mouth.
And don’t worry about being sued because the Good Samaritan Law will protect you. However, this law only protects you if you do not leave the person once you start CPR or other care.
Interviewer: So, call 911 first, even if you have to leave the person to do it. And once you start something like CPR, keep going until emergency medical help arrives.
Carol: Correct. Of course, this interview is not intended to tell people enough to save a life. Individuals can take CPR through many reputable organizations, such as the American Heart Association, the Red Cross, and the American Safety and Health Institute.
Interviewer: Let’s include a plug for you! Organizations can hire you to deliver health and safety training, including CPR. That could be a great team-building event. People can reach you at 510-223-4518 or Carol@csmcpr.com. Thank you for sharing these tips with us, Carol.