Current American Heart Association Guidelines, which were released in 2015, highlight the importance of high-quality CPR. The American Heart Association’s guidelines are much like a road map assisting states as they reevaluate their EMS protocols and look for areas of improvement. In order to improve rates of survival there are many areas that must be emphasized: 1. Rapid recognition of sudden cardiac arrest and bystander CPR, 2. Prioritization of CPR and defibrillation with a reduction in hands off chest time, 3. Improved infield advanced care to include use of capnography and double sequential defibrillation. Based on “best practices” from other states and knowledge of CPR in the out-of-hospital setting Rhode Island has implemented a system in which a minimum of 30 minutes of high performance CPR will be performed where the patient is found.
The 30-minute timeframe has been shown to improve cardiac arrest victim’s outcomes by allowing out-of-hospital providers to administer high-quality CPR. Valuable lifesaving efforts are lost while trying to move patients prior to resuscitating them on the scene.
Learn more here: http://rifirechiefs.com/cpr-protocols/