Recently we looked at how the American Heart Association is now advocating “hands-only” CPR in an effort to reach more individuals who normally would balk at mouth-to-mouth techniques.
This development underscores a larger, more promising trend: the proliferation of new CPR techniques and devices that will most certainly save more lives than ever before.
Take, for example, the Thumper. It’s a device used by emergency responders that performs CPR while simultaneously breathes for the victim. By doing so, it enables responders to engage in other life-saving activities. This device recently saved the life of a 56-year old who had no heartbeat for 16 minutes.
The devices cost approximately $12,000 each and are slowly being introduced to emergency crews all across the country.
Of course, a majority of schools, places of employments, and other public places still lack such devices, further accentuating the importance of good, old-fashioned onsite CPR certification.
