Archive for the ‘CPR Class’ Category

Infant Choking Seminar with STS instructor Charles

Have your ever experience a scenario where a baby is choking? We don’t want it to happen, but there are many cases of babies choking with their food, toys or any small object. Therefore, it is very important to learn the right skills for infant choking.

We are an American Heart Association Training Center and we offer Infant CPR and First Aid classes. For more information on our classes, please visit our website: http://www.berkeleycprclasses.com/course-catalog/american-heart-association-cpr-aed-first-aid/

We have an upcoming Free Infant Choking seminar at the SF Birth and Baby Fair. Our instructor Charles will provide it. Don’t miss it!

June 21st from 10am to 4pm

To register, you can go to the following link: http://www.birthandbabyfair.com/workshops/

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/Berkeleycprclasses

Twitter: @BerkeleyCPR

Berkeley CPR Classes
Raj Properties – in the courtyard
Next to Asha Tea House
2076 University Avenue, Suite B
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: (510) 225-6216
www.berkeleycprclasses.com

American Heart Association CPR & First Aid Class in Spanish

This is great news! Now we are providing CPR & First Aid classes in Spanish! You can find this classes in our Concord, San Francisco and San Jose locations.

Nuestras clases de Reanimación Cardio Pulmonar (RCP) y Primeros Auxilios son completamente en español. Y son certificadas por la Asociación Americana del Corazón (American Heart Association). También recibirá su tarjeta de certificación el día de la clase. 

Para mayor información y registrarse a la clase, vaya a nuestra pagina web: http://www.berkeleycprclasses.com/course-catalog/spanish-cpr-classes/ 

No olvides darnos ¨Me Gusta¨ en Facebook, para recibir un llavero gratis de máscara de respiración el día de la clase!!!

Berkeley CPR Classes

Two Blocks from Berkeley BART Station

2076 University Ave. Suite B Berkeley, CA 94704

(510) 225-6216

http://www.berkeleycprclasses.com/course-catalog/spanish-cpr-classes/

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure intended to maintain some degree of blood circulation and oxygenation of the brain and other vital organs of cardiac arrest victims. Cardiac arrest may occur suddenly, especially in adults, and can be brought about by various causes, such as heart attack, trauma, or drowning. Basic CPR maneuvers, such as chest compressions and rescue breathing, are suited for most cases; however, special circumstances, like severe bleeding or dangerous chest wounds, may require a different approach.

CPR is not the exclusive domain of health care professionals; although CPR training at STS in Berkeley and experience are excellent when available, any minimally informed person can be helpful. Also, CPR is not actually expected to restore victims to consciousness and safety, and inexperienced rescuers should not be daunted by their efforts’ failure to produce noticeable effects. Rather, basic resuscitation maneuvers are meant to improve the victim’s chances of survival until a professional medical crew can intervene.

The most important thing for an inexperienced rescuer to remember is the correct sequence of actions. The first step is, necessarily, calling the emergency services number. If there are at least two rescuers, one should make the call and remain on the telephone with the emergency dispatcher, who can provide real-time guidance until the ambulance crew arrives. If you are a lone rescuer, you will have to multitask as best you might, and call for assistance while you move on to the next steps; use the phone’s handsfree function, if you can, to remain in touch with the dispatcher.

The next step is ascertaining whether the victim has actually suffered cardiac arrest, and is in need of CPR. The pulse can be difficult to check without prior training, and it may not immediately reveal a cardiac arrest, so attempting to take the pulse should be dispensed with. Briefly check for basic awareness: firmly shake the arm and call out loudly, and if the person is not responsive, lay him or her on the back. Just as briefly, check the victim’s breathing; if you cannot detect any, or if all you can observe is panting or gasping, begin performing chest compressions.

The latest AHA (American Heart Association) guidelines on CPR that is taught in our CPR Courses in Berkeley, released in 2010, represent a moderate departure from older recommendations. The long-standing ‘A-B-C’ of resuscitation (airway, breathing, and, finally, compression) has been revised; chest compressions now have priority, and it is even recommended that untrained rescuers limit their efforts to this ‘hands-only’ procedure (cardiocerabral resuscitation). The AHA argues that the lungs and blood still hold some oxygen even after breathing has ceased, and forced circulation alone, through chest compressions, can save lives.

To perform chest compressions, lay your palms one over the other, with fingers loosely interlaced, the heel of the hand firmly pressing against the center of the victim’s chest. Press down and release repeatedly, quickly and forcefully, allowing the chest to rebound completely after each push. For adults and children, the compression depth should be at least a couple of inches (or five centimeters,) and only 1.5 inches (or four centimeters) for infants. Use the weight of your body when pressing down, or your arms will tire out quickly. If you have no CPR training, just keep doing this until the ambulance crew relieves you.

Chest compressions must be performed at a rate of at least 100 per minute; a popular AHA training video has employed the useful pun of recommending to time compressions by mentally keeping the rhythm of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” hit. If you have CPR training in Berkeley, after about 30 compressions you can move on to opening the airway by tilting back the head and lifting the chin forward, and then perform mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-nose rescue breathing; repeat in cycles of 30 compressions and two one-second breaths, until you can perceive the chest rising after a rescue breath, or until help arrives.

Without oxygen, irreversible brain damage and, eventually, death will occur within minutes; forced circulation through chest compressions and, if possible, rescue breathing can prolong this short grace period. Call for help immediately after concluding that the victim is unconscious and not breathing normally, or ask a nearby person to make the call, and begin performing CPR without hesitation. Even if you lack formal training and experience, a cardiac arrest victim’s life may depend on your determination and willingness to help.

American Heart Association CPR & First-aid Class

In 1960, after the American Heart Association recognized the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, as an invaluable lifesaving skill, the United States launched a nationwide campaign to educate both medical professionals and volunteers on the correct method of administration.

In emergency medical situations, CPR can sustain life long enough for medical professionals to diagnose and treat victims. It is performed in a series of three steps. First, an unresponsive victim is assessed to determine whether or not they are breathing. If not, then intervals of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions are administered in a dual effort to provide air to the victim’s lungs and blood to the victim’s brain. This process of alternating intervals is continued until the victim begins to breathe again, or until medical professionals can assess, diagnose, and begin a course of treatment.

The most effective technique for the administration of CPR was developed by Dr. Peter Safar and Dr. James Elam. These two doctors were a part of the American Heart Association’s coordinated effort to educate medical professionals and volunteers on the proper administration of CPR during emergency medical situations.
Safar approached toymaker Asmund Laerdal, enlisting him to create a realistic mannequin for use in CPR training. Laerdal responded with a mannequin modeled after an anonymous woman whose body was fished out of the River Seine in Paris around the turn of the twentieth century (Snopes.com).
This woman’s features had originally been reproduced in the form of a death mask and had gained in popularity in Parisian society. Consequently, Laerdal had a reproduction of the death mask at the time of Safar’s request. While the woman may have died anonymously, Laerdal graced her memory in the form of a mannequin he created and sold with the name “Resci Anne.”

Though she has assumed several nicknames since her creation in 1960, perhaps she is most affectionately known and recognized in the United States as “Rescue Annie.” She has withstood the test of time, having been reproduced for over sixty years and counting; additionally, she has proven herself an essential component in any CPR training course and we at Berkeley CPR Courses agree .

Over the years, “Rescue Annie’s” family has grown to include other realistic mannequins to assist in CPR training. There is a male mannequin, “Rescue Randy,” as well as an infant mannequin, “Baby Resci.” In addition, a dark skinned Annie exists, as well as a line of products collectively known under the umbrella line of “Little Anne.” These products, along with the mannequins themselves, continue to be manufactured by Laerdal, the original toymaker responsible for the first “Rescue Annie.”

Once the American Heart Association recognized the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, it became a priority to not only raise national awareness of the lifesaving technique, but to also provide instruction on its proper administration. For this reason, the doctors who were responsible for developing the technique asked for assistance in the form of realistic mannequins to help aid them in CPR training courses as well as our own Berkeley CPR Certification Classes. “Rescue Annie” was the first of those mannequins, and for this reason, her name has become synonymous with CPR.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, usually called CPR, is a technique the helps to take over the task of circulating oxygen and blood to the body when a cardiac or pulmonary arrest occurs. This life-saving technique has a long history, and refinements in CPR’s implementation have helped to save the lives of millions of people around the world and STS of Berkeley hopes to train many more people so millions of more lives can be saved.

Ancient Writings

Efforts to help victims of drowning and other means of sudden death began early in the history of mankind.  Writings that go back to the ancient Mayan civilization make reference to methods of resuscitation. The Incans also mention resuscitation of people who suffered sudden collapse. Other writings of the past mention the use of a metal cannula inserted into the throat to induce respiration.

Mouth-to-mouth

Breathing into the mouth was an early development, mainly used to resuscitate babies and children in distress. Later, a type of bellows was development that pumped air into the patient. Warming the patient, bloodletting and fumigating with tobacco were also used.

Chest compressions

In the late 1800s, Dr. H.R. Silvester proposed a method of artificial respiration to help revive patients. This was an early form of CPR that was known as the “Silvester Method.” It was taught to medical personnel for many years. In this technique, the patient was laid on his back with arms extended above his head to help open airways.  In the 1900s, the patient’s position was changed to a face down pose with the head turned to the side and the palms downward. The back was then compressed and the patient’s elbows raised to force air into the lungs. This position was known as the “Holger Nielson Technique” and was used for many years. Old TV shows often show this older method of CPR.

CPR Advances

By the mid-20th century, medical researchers found that cardiac arrest patients were more likely to survive if both chest compressions and artificial respiration were used.  A formal method of teaching the technique was developed, and the effort to widely disperse this information began. This technique was taught extensively to the public for many years through the medical community, first aid courses and public health organizations.

Hands-Only CPR

As the decades passed, a body of data regarding outcomes of CPR use became available. Researchers noticed that in some circumstance, the use of the compressions alone provided sufficient blood flow to keep the person alive. Recently, the American Heart Association and STS of Berkeley began to advise students of CPR to use chest compressions alone, unless a specific breathing difficulty was a factor.  In cases of choking, drowning or other respiratory problems, mouth-to-mouth technique is still recommended.

The Future of CPR

Automatic devices that can do the compressions easily without manual assistance are already available. AEDs, automatic external defibrillators, which send an electrical charge to the heart to restart beating, can be found in airports, hotels and other establishments. These machines have been a great help in saving lives in everyday circumstances.  It is likely that new technologies will provide new developments to aid in rescuing people who are the victims of cardiac or pulmonary arrest. Safety Training Seminars also offers classes in AED training.

CPR Training Classes in Berkeley

Sunday , 09/23/2012 at 9:00 am

Wednesday , 10/03/2012 at 9:00 am

Sunday , 10/07/2012 at 9:00 am

Upcoming CPR classes in Berkeley