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This week on Healthwatch, we're talking about ways to prevent heart-related deaths. Previously, we discussed the importance of getting help quickly in case of a heart attack. Sometimes, that help may come from bystanders doing CPR. Now doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center have new recommendations about giving instructions for CPR.
When emergency dispatchers talk laypeople who aren't trained in CPR through emergency procedures over the phone, they should focus on giving chest compressions. That's what
Dr. Paul Pepe, UT Southwestern's chairman of emergency medicine, and other doctors suggested in a recent report. According to the report, this could improve survival because some bystanders might be reluctant to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation with a stranger but would be more willing if all they had to do was chest compressions.
Next: Why chest compressions may be enough.
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May 2005
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