New CPR Guidelines

"Push hard, push fast" next time you give CPR to someone having cardiac arrest, say new, simpler guidelines in a radical departure from past advice.

Putting the emphasis on chest compressions instead of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the American Heart Association now urges people to give 30 compressions — instead of 15 — for every two rescue breaths.

"Basically, the more times someone pushes on the chest, the better off the patient is," said Dr. Michael Sayre, an Ohio State University emergency medicine professor who helped develop the guidelines announced Monday.

"We have made things simpler," he said. "Push hard on the person's chest and push fast."

The streamlined guidelines should make it easier for people to learn CPR. Earlier rules were different for adults and for children and called on untrained rescuers to stop pushing the chest periodically to check for signs of circulation.

"Heart Assoc. Offers New CPR Guidelines," San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 28, 2005