5 January 2012
The most senior nurse at Epsom, Sutton and St Helier hospitals is backing a new national campaign to help people who don't know what to do if someone suffers a heart attack.
Pippa Hart, Director of Nursing at the hospitals, is supporting the British Heart Foundation's new 'Hard and Fast' campaign promoting hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The campaign is aimed at those without any training who may feel unable to help.
Pippa said: "30,000 people have a heart attack in the UK every single year and half of those are witnessed, but in most cases no-one acts, no-one knows what to do, people panic.
"If an adult has suddenly collapsed, is not breathing normally and is unresponsive, don't waste valuable time worrying about what you should do - even if you don't have special training your actions can help.
"The first thing to do is call 999 or get someone else to. Then, unless you are trained, forget 'mouth-to-mouth' resuscitation and concentrate on the chest compressions. Interlock your fingers, place your hands palm down and push hard and fast in the centre of their chest about 100 - 120 times a minute until the ambulance service arrives.
"Feeling like you have to give the 'kiss of life' to someone who has collapsed can be unnerving for untrained bystanders who want to help. People may be worried they don't know what to do, or will get it wrong.
"The British Heart Foundation is suggesting people hum the Bee Gees hit Stayin' Alive, to get the tempo of chest compressions right, however it's important to make sure that your compressions are deep enough: you should push down five or six centimetres in the centre of the chest.
"Rescue breaths and chest compressions remain part of the gold standard of CPR, but those people who haven't had training should just focus on chest compressions. We would all want someone to try and save a member of our family, our friends and our loved ones, so if you do see someone who has had a heart attack, stay calm and try your best."
For more information about the British Heart Foundation's campaign, and to see the advert featuring the former Chelsea footballer, Vinnie Jones, visit www.bhf.org.uk. You can also register for CPR training or download a new mobile phone 'app' to teach hands-only CPR.
