Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Howard G. Smith, M.D. is a former radio medical editor and talk show host in the Boston Metro area. His "Medical Minute" of health and wellness news and commentary was a regular weekday feature on WBZ-AM, WRKO-AM, and WMRE-AM. His popular two-way talk show, Dr. Howard Smith OnCall, was regularly heard Sunday morning and middays on WBZ.

Dr. Smith has adopted audio and video podcasting as conduits for HEALTH NEWS YOU SHOULD USE. Based on the latest medical, health, and wellness literature these reports provide practical information you can use to keep yourself and your family healthy. Many reports have video versions, and Dr. Smith’s YouTube Channel may be found at: http://bit.ly/2rNw6XQ

Trained at Harvard Medical School and a long-time faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital, he practiced Pediatric Otolaryngology for 40 years in Boston, Southern California, and in central Connecticut.  He is now based in New York City.

If you have questions or suggestions about this content, please email the doctor at drhowardsmith.reports@gmail.com or leave him a message at 516-778-8864.  His website is: www.drhowardsmith.com.

Please note that the news, views, commentary, and opinions that Dr. Smith provides are for informational purposes only. Any changes that you or members of your family contemplate making to lifestyle, diet, medications, or medical therapy should always be discussed beforehand with personal physicians who have been supervising your care.

Dec 30, 2019

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/UB_dx6o4wAA


Every year, more bystanders are saving lives by applying CPR.  The latest Swedish study emphasizes that pushing on the chest alone without also breathing for the patient using either mouth-to-mouth or a breathing tube can save just as many lives.

 

The Swedes reviewed more than 30,000 cardiac arrest patients and showed that those lucky 68% that received CPR of any type from bystanders were twice as likely to survive the first 30 days following the incident.  The statistics showed that chest compressions alone can be very effective.  There was no outstanding benefit for those who also received rescue breathing as well as chest compressions.

 

If you find someone on the ground without a pulse, call 911.  Then begin chest compressions at about two per second. 

 

Check to see if you can remove any obstructing material from the victim’s mouth.  If you are capable of adding rescue breaths, do so.  If not, keep up the chest compressions until the EMTs arrive.

 

Gabriel Riva, Mattias Ringh, Martin Jonsson, Leif Svensson, Johan Herlitz, Andreas Claesson, Therese Djärv, Per Nordberg, Sune Forsberg, Sten Rubertsson, Anette Nord, Mårten Rosenqvist, Jacob Hollenberg. Survival in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest After Standard Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or Chest Compressions Only Before Arrival of Emergency Medical Services: Nationwide Study During Three Guideline Periods. Circulation, 2019; DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038179

 

#cpr #chestcompression #rescuebreathing #mouthtomouth #cardiacarrest