Disco saves lives?

Retreived from British Heart Foundation

Ever been asked “what would you do if…..?” It’s a common question when teaching first aid. During a recent class I was asked, “What should you do if a person was in cardiac arrest and you didn’t have a pocket mask? Should you give the person mouth to mouth?”
This is an important question and I don't believe the answer should be addressed with a simple resonse. It is important for students to think about this, so I ask a series of questions to facilitate discussion.

• “Do you want to swap spit with a person you don’t know?”
• “Can viruses, bacteria or any life changing diseases be transmitted through saliva, blood or vomit?”
• “Do you consider this a safety risk?”

Students putting themselves at risk and performing mouth to mouth respirations is a concern of mine. Another concern is students taking the “all or nothing” approach. Withholding chest compressions because they don’t want to perform respirations.
Out of hospital cardiac arrests have a high mortality rate. 

Last week I was reading David Smekel's 2013 dissertation, Safety with Mechanical Chest Compressions in CPR. I found one statement absoultely relevent for students learning CPR.

Survival after cardiac arrest depends on prompt and effective CPR. Several factors influence the outcome: naturally, the most important factor is whether CPR is performed or not.

Luckily there is a solution for responders who don't have a pocket mask when responding to a cardiac arrest. Hands Only CPR! It's endorsed by the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation! Their website says,

Hands-Only CPR. This means pushing down hard and fast on the centre of the chest at a rate of 100 compressions per minute.

In the first chapter of Jose Antonio Bowen's book Teaching Naked, he states that important and complex content and skills are being taught online. I found the British Heart Foundation and the American Heart Foundation videos on Hands Only CPR were bang on. They use humour and star power to teach a life saving skill. 

British Heart Foundations take on Hands Only CPR with Vinnie Jones

And now for the American Heart Foundation version with Ken Jeong

Now that you have watched these videos, I have a few questions for you!

• Are these videos enough to learn the skill?
• Would you be able to perform Hands Only CPR?
• Do you believe disco could save lives?