Cpr

Chest compressions alone are as effective in rescuing victims of heart attacks as conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation that combines compressions with forced breathing, researchers said Wednesday. Studies in Washington and Sweden confirm the growing idea that the breathing component of CPR is necessary only for children and those who have suffered drowning or who have respiratory problems. Recent guidelines based on these and earlier studies may overcome some of the fears of bystanders who are reluctant to initiate CPR because of the danger of infectious diseases.

My husband left me. He didn't mean to, but he did. The day before my son's birthday, he was just gone. Lying on the couch, he looked like he was crying, and foam was coming out of his mouth. I thought he was having a seizure. I wasn't sure. I panicked. But I am a volunteer trained to react in an emergency, and having my husband not respond to me caused a switch to throw. I did the chest rub, I called 911. I threw him onto the floor of the living room. I did CPR as hard and as fast as I could.

"Stayin' Alive" might be more true to its name than the Bee Gees ever could have guessed: At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a heart. In a small study from the University of Illinois medical school, doctors and students doing CPR maintained nearly the ideal pace of chest compressions while listening to the catchy, sung-in-falsetto tune from the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever."

In a major change, the American Heart Assn. said Monday that hands-only CPR -- rapid, deep presses on the victim's chest until help arrived -- worked just as well as standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation for sudden cardiac arrest in adults. Experts hope bystanders will now be more willing to jump in and help if they see someone suddenly collapse. Hands-only CPR is simpler and easier to remember and removes a big barrier for people skittish about the mouth-to-mouth breathing.

Don Herbert, the KFWB on-air personality who joined the station when it converted to an all-news format in 1968 and remained there for 30 years, died Saturday of complications from colon surgery at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He was 72. Born Herb Rosenblum in Brooklyn in 1935, Herbert majored in broadcasting at the University of Alabama. He worked in radio and television stations in Little Rock, Ark., and Washington, D.C., before arriving in Southern California.

The future of what was once called Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center is again under debate. What cannot be denied is the failure of its most recent iteration, known as King-Harbor Hospital, nor the vacuum its closure has created in the community it was designed to serve. The people of South L.A. need a full-service hospital. Indeed, the people of the entire county need that hospital.

CPR is an important way to keep people alive after heart attacks until more care can be provided. It's a crucial skill, not just for emergency responders, but also for the general public, as the first few minutes after an attack are the most critical. But CPR classes generally take three to four hours -- which discourages many people from taking them. Perhaps all that time isn't necessary.

Lightning struck a diver's air tank as he surfaced off Deerfield Beach, authorities said. Stephen Wilson, 36, was diving with three other men about 40 miles north of Miami. The other divers struggled to get Wilson back into the boat and radioed for help, authorities said. A rescue crew gave him CPR on the beach, but he was later pronounced dead at North Broward Medical Center.

UC Irvine Medical Center has disciplined 22 employees caught in the last month with falsified certificates showing they passed cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, officials acknowledged this week. The fake certificates came to light after an employee presented one during a required recertification class May 15, and a subsequent investigation discovered 21 others. The review was completed June 15.

The first time Steve Martinez had a potentially fatal seizure at Saticoy Elementary in North Hollywood, a visiting Marine began CPR, then the school nurse took over -- it was one of her two days a week on campus. The alert, skilled response allowed Steve to survive without a disabling injury. The next time he wasn't so lucky. The CPR was ineffective and administered by someone who later testified that she lacked qualifications, even though at least 17 people on campus had the required training.