Vabluebird, if you are doing CPR the AED should always be applied once it arrives. The machine will advise if a shock is needed.
The AED talks to you, which helps. Get it out and turn it on, and it gives instructions.
CPR is one of those things where TV and movies have done a disservice, you see them doing CPR and the patient mirculously revives. CPR is not designed to revive someone, it is designed to keep oxygen going to the brain and organs to keep them from dying. With adults, the rate of actual revival is somewhere less than 15%, for kids it is higher (not surprising, among other things, a kids heart can stop a lot easier than an adults, but also is more resilient, too).It also depends what shape the patient is in, if the patient has had a massive cardiac failure,it is likely they won’t be able to revive them, if the heart stopped because of trauma, the survival rate will be higher, it all depends.
The AED units are not hard to use from what I have seen (haven’t had training on them), it is basically a use and go. I believe they also will warn you if the heart is still going, if someone’s heart is going you only have to do artificial respiration.
According to my latest CPR rating class, success rates for saving children are much higher because kids’ hearts stop because of accidents (drowning, suffocation) while adult hearts stop for those reasons plus decades of heart disease. The life you save is very likely your child or the child of someone you love. Fast response with compressions plus breaths is the standard for children
Not to downplay hands-only for adults. If you see someone down, go with chest compressions and forget the mouth-to-mouth. Keep the blood circulating. Two inches of compression to the time of the Bee Gees “Staying Alive”
Vabluebird, if you are doing CPR the AED should always be applied once it arrives. The machine will advise if a shock is needed. >>>>>>>>>
I can’t remember where to put the leads but I imagine there’s an illustration. I know it walks you through what to do.
Front and back or front and left side but not touching. There are illustrations. Wipe off any medicinal patches.
I always figured they made us take CPR as Girl Scout leaders in case our co-leader had a heart attack – odds of needing it for a kid are really low.