Kildare Xtra
Monday, 16 January 2012
Ireland’s national charity fighting heart disease and stroke has welcomed the campaign created by their counterparts in the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to tackle the barriers to the public performing CPR in an emergency.
No more kissing just hard and fast CPR to the Bee Gees.
The Irish Heart Foundation has backed the latest UK TV campaign featuring Hollywood actor Vinnie Jones promoting hands-only CPR to help save lives from sudden cardiac arrest. In the new TV advert which airs on Irish Screenings this month, tough man Jones urges untrained bystanders to give the kiss a miss during CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and concentrate on giving just chest compressions to the beat of Stayin’ Alive.
Ireland’s national charity fighting heart disease and stroke has welcomed the campaign created by their counterparts in the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to tackle the barriers to the public performing CPR in an emergency. A poll by the BHF showed nearly half of people were put off helping because of a lack of knowledge about CPR and a fifth of respondents worried specifically about the thought of the kiss of life or catching an infectious disease. According to Irish Heart Foundation resuscitation expert Brigid Sinnott, the same barriers exist here.
She said: “Here in Ireland we know that as little as a third of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. Many people are afraid to give CPR in an emergency because of their lack of knowledge and many more are put off by the thought of having to give the kiss of life. The new British Heart foundation advert has hit the nail on the head – regardless if you have been trained or not, if someone collapses unconscious in front of you, call 999 and start giving strong chest compressions to the beat of Stayin’ Alive to keep a good tempo. The reality is that about 60% of collapse occur in front of family or friends which is why we need to encourage everyone to give hands CPR a try. It really can mean the difference between life and death.”
Each year in Ireland an estimated 5,000 people die suddenly from cardiac arrest when their hearts stop beating. Between 70 and 100 of these deaths occur in people under the age of 35. For every minute a person is collapsed without receiving CPR or defibrillation, their chance of survival decreases by between seven and 10 per cent per minute. After five minutes, their chance of survival may be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. But according to Ms. Sinnott, with bystander CPR and the availability of a defibrillator within minutes, their chances can greatly improve. The new TV advert, showing throughout January will reveal a compassionate side to Vinnie Jones as he performs hands-only CPR to Stayin’ alive in a deserted warehouse, flanked by two dancing henchmen.
Former Chelsea footballer Jones said: “There really shouldn’t be any messing about when it comes to CPR. If you’re worried about the kiss of life just forget it and push hard and fast in the centre of the chest to Stayin’ Alive. Hands only CPR should give ‘have-a-go’ heroes’ the confidence to step in and help when somebody is in cardiac arrest”. To watch the BHF TV ad see www.irishheart.ie.
Chest Compressions with rescue breaths will continue to be part of gold standard CPR and taught during formal training, including on the Irish Heart Foundation courses.
Meanwhile the Irish Heart Foundation’s animated heart attack awareness TV advert returns to Irish screens on 16th January encouraging Irish men to call 999 if they think they are having a heart attack. The unique campaign was launched with support from Westlife’s Nicky Byrne who lost his father to a heart attack in November 2009.
According to the singer, it doesn’t’ always have to be a Hollywood heart attack, but you should still call 999.
Nicky, who lends his voice to the campaign, said: “We all know someone who has had a heart attack and the symptoms are not always what you think. That’s what happened to my dad. He wasn’t feeling well but like many men, he didn’t want to cause a fuss. Now I and my family want to spare other families the heartache and loss that we have gone through by raising awareness of the need to call 999 at the first sign of a heart attack. If we can help save one more life through this campaign, it will be worth it.”