Survival story of a cardiac arrest victim

Millions of Americans celebrate our independence as they get together with friends, family and gobs of food for a blissful day at the beach or park followed by oohs and ahs at Fourth of July fireworks displays. But for two young women in Michigan with a special bond, this year’s annual commemoration marked the fifth anniversary of a truly special and personal event.

The weather forecast for July 3, 2006 was typical for the time of year – a hot day followed by an evening with a chance of showers. Residents of St. Joseph, Michigan and hundreds of other shorefront communities throughout the country gathered on the beach in anticipation of watching the rockets’ red, white, blue, green and gold glare. There were ominous clouds forming in the distance, but everyone thought the show would go on and be over before the rains came. Unfortunately, a storm formed suddenly, leaving lots of people in the path of a violent squall.

Lyndsay Prager, a then 10-year-old from Kansas, was spending the holiday weekend with her grandparents in southwest Michigan. Jessica Worthington, a then 15-year-old high school student from nearby Dowagiac, had also come to Silver Beach to watch the fireworks. But before anyone could safely find shelter, a big bolt of lightning struck Prager, as she and other family members were trying to find refuge in her grandfather’s truck.

Seconds after Worthington heard the loud clap of thunder, she heard a frantic cry for help. Dale Whiteaker, Prager’s grandfather, pleaded with anyone who could hear him that his granddaughter had been struck and needed CPR. Worthington, who was riding out the storm in her family’s car, had been trained in CPR and other life-saving techniques in her high school health class and responded immediately. She jumped out of the car, started CPR and resuscitated Prager. Prager was later taken to the hospital where she received treatment for her injuries and was released days later.

We all have our special foods, favorite places and ways to commemorate holidays. For Worthington and Praeger, nothing could ever top their reunion dinner at Silver Beach on July 3, 2011. They and their families got together at a pizza restaurant just steps away from the spot where a second chance at life was miraculously made possible by a good Samaritan with CPR training. It was truly a unique and wonderful way for these now friends-for-life to celebrate.

In-Pulse CPR is now offering multiple CPR training classes in central Pennsylvania

CPR training classes now available at multiple locations near Harrisburg, the capital of PA

Online PR News – 16-September-2010 – In-Pulse CPR is now offering first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes at 6 locations in the Harrisburg Pennsylvania metro area for both community and health care professionals.

Class locations include: Harrisburg, Reading, York, Gettysburg, Hershey, and Lancaster. More locations are planned to be added over the next year.

“Currently In-Pulse CPR offers the four most requested American Heart certifications people ask for.” says Troy Bowman. Troy is the business manager for In-Pulse CPR. These certifications include Heartsaver CPR or Heartsaver CPR with AED. These courses teaches basic CPR to laymen. Layman include non medical employees such as day care staff, warehouse workers, babysitters, boy/girl scout leaders, grandparents, etc. Heartsaver First Aid is often taught along side the CPR certification and is taught to effectively recognize and treat adult, child and infant emergencies in the first 7 to 10 critical minutes before emergency help arrives. First Aid is primarily taken by daycare providers and office workers. “Our most popular certification” Bowman says, “is our BLS for Healthcare workers”. BLS stand for Basic Life Support and is for health-care professionals including nurses, dental assistants or anyone who has a health related degree. The course teaches CPR skills to help health-care workers deal with cardiac arrest, choking, and heart attack for all ages. Most nurses, EMT’s. dental workers, and nursing students are required to get “CPR Certified” by a qualified program such as through the American Heart. In-Pulse CPR is now offering Bloodborne Pathogens training. This course is for any non medical employee who could ‘reasonably encounter bloodborne pathogens within their daily job responsibilities. This is an OSHA approved course.

Students successfully completing most courses receive a two-year certification from the American Heart Association. The fee for each course varies. Registration can be completed online by visiting the company’s web site inpulsecpr.com.com/pennsylvania or by contacting them via phone at 717-585-6962.
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The Ever-Changing Science of Healthcare

Written by Melanie Pinette

Healthcare is a broad ever-changing science that will forever surprise us with new and improved life-saving procedures, devices, and medicines. We all wish to one day find the ‘Fountain of Youth’, but in reality, it’s the brilliant individuals in the health and science fields that are always hard at work to find the latest and greatest measures to prolong the human life. Think back to just over 50 yrs ago… Polio was one of the most fear diseases of all times, Malaria killed more than 800,000 people (mostly children) every year, and laser eye surgery wasn’t even a futuristic endeavor yet. Today, we are not only at the brink of being able to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease (which used to only be found after death), but are feverishly working on cures for Cancer, and finding ways to turn stem cells into fresh, healthy  heart cells, liver cells, brain cells…etc.

So when it comes to CPR, we have to expect changes to transpire as healthcare finds new breakthroughs around every corner. As I’m sure most of you have heard, the American Heart Association (AHA) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) has recently released a new order for CPR. For over 40 years, CPR has emphasized the ‘A-B-C’ order in which people were instructed to open the victims airway, breath into the victims mouth with nose pinched, and then give chest compressions. For multiple reasons, the order has now changed from A-B-C (airway-breathing-compressions) to C-A-B (compressions-airway-breathing). The previous approach was causing significant delays in starting chest compressions which are extremely important in keeping oxygen-rich blood circulating throughout the body. All victims in cardiac arrest need chest compressions immediately. In the first few minutes of an arrest, the victim will have enough oxygen remaining in their lungs and bloodstream to supply the heart and brain with, as long as compressions are not prolonged. Research has shown that rescuers who started CPR with opening the airway took 30 seconds longer to begin chest compressions. Those few seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

Over 350,000 Americans suffer from cardiac related issues every year. Sudden cardiac arrests claim hundreds of thousands of those lives, which breaks down to less than 5% survive. Although CPR is being taught, many people have neglected to perform it due to sanitary reasons. When they see a complete stranger collapse, most people don’t want to start mouth to mouth. With the new changes, Hands-Only CPR is much simpler and less intimidating: Call 911 and push hard and fast on the center of the chest until professional help or an AED arrives. We can all make a difference in someones life, and I’m sure if your loved one needed immediate medical attention, you wouldn’t want people to turn away. Science Daily published recent studies that showed while the percentage of bystanders administering CPR increased only slightly over the past four years, of those that did choose to help, 77 percent opted for chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing instead of standard CPR. Before, that number was only 16 percent.. Those numbers are staggering. If we can get the word out, and get people educated on the correct ways to perform CPR, the survival rates will remarkably improve!

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Disclaimer:
Use of any advise on this site is purely at your own risk.  The information supplied is designed to accompany CPR and first aid training not to replace.  In-Pulse CPR, Inc disclaims any liability for losses you incur as a result of inaccuracy of the information provided on this website.  Information on this site is for education, supplemental to examination by and advice of medical professionals.   Any information regarding first aid treatments is not meant to replace the advice of medical professionals including physicians, paramedics, emergency room attendants, nurses or other licensed medical personnel.