FitSugar

"Stayin' Alive" Keeps Man Alive

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:03:40 PDT

A seemingly silly public service announcement helped Debra Bader save her husband's life. The couple was walking in the woods when 53-year-old Christopher Bader suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest, the same heart problem that recently led to Michael Jackson's death. Thankfully, Bader recalled the American Heart Association's campaign from last year, teaching people that the Bee Gees song "Stayin' Alive" has a perfect tempo to match the recommended pace of chest compressions. So she called 9-1-1 and started singing.

"I sang the song and gave directions to the EMTs at the same time. It was like, 'Stayin' alive, stayin' alive - take a right here, take a left here - Stayin' alive, stayin' alive - take this path down here - Stayin' alive, stayin' alive,' " Bader remembers.

For 15 minutes Bader, who had never taken a CPR class, beat on her husband's chest until the ambulance arrived and the EMTs delivered a shock to his heart with a defibrillator. Christopher Bader survived, even though 95 percent of people who go into cardiac arrest die before they get to the hospital.

Wow! What a heartwarming story, and don't you love hearing that a funny PSA actually worked? Perhaps it helped that an episode of The Office also featured a riff on the "Stayin' Alive" connection. Want a laugh? Check out the clip.

Are You Prepared For an Emergency?

FitSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:00:00 PST

The Heimlich maneuver is usually taught in health classes during high school, and CPR often makes appearances in movie scenes where the choking victim and hero either love or hate each other. We might not think these skills will ever come in handy - until there's an emergency. If put to the test, could you do the Heimlich maneuver or CPR?

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Infant CPR Can Save Your Baby's Life

LilSugar — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:00:00 PST

As moms, it's our job to protect our kids. But what happens when there's an emergency and we don't know what to do? When it comes to CPR, there's no reason to panic. You might not have had a chance to attend a Red Cross class so The Doctors recently aired a how-to segment that teaches parents via video. Take three minutes to watch the lifesaving technique.

Are You Trained in First Aid?

babysugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:00:04 PDT

Many expecting parents sign up for First Aid classes before their first born arrives so they will be prepared for that hot dog in the throat or a trip in the pool. As scary as those incidents sound, it is better to be skilled in rescuing than left wondering what to do. As children age, the skill set changes and certification should be renewed every two years.

I'm certainly out of practice on infants and could use a lesson on toddler CPR. Are you up to date on your training?

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CPR + Bee Gees = Stayin' Alive

FitSugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:00:00 PDT

I love the rare occasion when pop culture overlaps with medical news, especially when it involves a lot of consonants. We all know from exercising while listening to playlists that the beats per minute in songs can help you reach the desired beats per minute of your heart rate. It looks like the same holds true for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, otherwise known as CPR.

The Bee Gees song coincidentally titled "Stayin' Alive" provides the correct timing for the manual chest compressions used in CPR. The tempo of the song syncs perfectly with the recommended pace of the chest compression - 100 beats per minute. On a serious note: when properly performed, CPR can at least triple survival rates for victims of cardiac arrest. It is said that many people fear performing CPR because they are not confident about the rhythm for pumping the chest. Hopefully the Bee Gees can help.

If you need a little refresher course on how the song goes, check out GiggleSugar's celebration of this musical health headline. If you need a little refresher course on CPR, the American Heart Association offers classes nationwide.

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Dudes and Dolls (The Early Years)

GiggleSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:30:00 PDT

They say dolls make the best girlfriends.

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New Approach to CPR Saves More Lives

FitSugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:00:00 PDT

Many of you have been trained in CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation), so I thought you would be interested in this new approach to the technique. Now emergency medical workers may be using a new approach to CPR called MICR. It stands for "minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation" and it focuses on increasing blood flow to the heart and brain. This new method can triple the rate of survival for heart attack victims treated in "out-of-hospital" situations.

MICR should only be administered by trained professionals and it involves more than just chest compressions. It involves an initial series of 200 uninterrupted chest compressions and then the victim receives a shock. Then another set of 200 chest compressions is given. If there's still no pulse, the workers will give the victim a shot of epinephrine to stimulate the heart. Then they'll insert a flexible plastic tube into the trachea to help ventilate the lungs.

The success of this new method is great news since cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. Each year about 88,000 women, aged 45 to 64, suffer from a heart attack. The best way to take care of your heart is to exercise regularly (cardio is essential), don't smoke, eat a healthy diet that's low in sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat, and try to limit the amount of stress in your life. Remember that it's never too early to start taking care of your heart.

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Do You Know CPR?

FitSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:30:00 PST

Being that February is heart health month, I thought I would tell you that the American Heart Association is urging more people to be trained in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It seems that not many Americans are trained in the potentially life saving treatment.

It is estimated that only 15 to 30 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander before emergency medical services personnel arrive on the scene. CPR is crucial for a heart attack victim's survival because with every minute without CPR the chances of making it through the episode of cardiac arrest fall by up to 10 percent.

Those statistics motivate me to get re-certified in CPR, how about you? Are you certified in CPR? Have you ever performed CPR in an emergency? If so, share the details in the comments section below.

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Lil Tip: Infant CPR

LilSugar — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:00:37 PST

Taking care of a tot is no small undertaking- there are lots of risks for lil ones: choking, falling in a pool or slipping under water in the bathtub, even getting caught in window cords. For babies, the number one cause of accidental death is choking.

Don't wait for something to happen, be prepared ahead of time. Invest in your child's safety by taking an Infant and Child CPR class, which you can find through your local Red Cross. Kids have a much better chance of survival if CPR is performed immediately, so it only makes sense for parents to become certified in this life saving technique. The same goes for your nanny or babysitter.

EMT Does CPR on a Cat

GiggleSugar — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:00:00 PDT

Nothing beats a perilous story with a happy ending, especially when we get video footage of an EMT doing mouth-to-mouth on a cat out of it. This is too good. How does life come up with this shit? (And Mr. EMT Guy: Will you marry me?)