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New iPhone App Teaches CPR and First Aid, With Bells and Whistles

The American Heart Association’s “Pocket First Aid and CPR” iPhone application sells for $3.99. Built using JiveMedia technology, the app provides a quick reference through video and detailed instructions on how to perform first aid for CPR, choking, bites, bruises, burns, seizures, diabetic emergencies, and more.

You can also enter your and your loved ones’ medical information, including emergency contacts, allergies, medications, and insurance information.  Per the company, “As standards of treatment improve, Pocket First Aid & CPR will be updated to track those changes.”  The instructions are available even when you are out of cell phone range.

Important point about CPR:  There are TWO ways of doing CPR.  One method uses only chest compressions (it’s called Hands Only CPR), and the other, “traditional,”  method alternates chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.  This iPhone app shows you how to do both traditional CPR and Hands-Only.  The app also has details on using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).  Those are the machines you see in many lobbies and airports now.  Here’s a movie from AHA on their use and more information on what they are.

Here’s an AHA statement about Hands-Only CPR:  “Studies of real emergencies that have occurred in homes, at work or in public locations, show that these two steps, called Hands-Only™ CPR, can be as effective as conventional CPR. Providing Hands-Only CPR to an adult who has collapsed from a sudden cardiac arrest can more than double that person’s chance of survival.”

The mouth-to-mouth part is needed if the person is in “respiratory” arrest (i.e. they have collapsed because they are not breathing.)   “CPR with mouth-to-mouth breathing remains the appropriate rescue technique for patients who are in respiratory arrest. In respiratory arrest, which in most cases is caused by drug overdose, alcohol intoxication, carbon monoxide poisoning, a severe asthma attack, drowning, or choking, the primary problem is not the heart but a lack of oxygen (suffocation) that eventually leads to cardiac arrest.” Read the rest of this article if you want to better understand the two types and when to use which one.

Obviously, you need to dial 911 for any medical emergency and inquire directly to the AHA, your doctor, or another trusted medical authority if you have questions about when or how to perform CPR.