Committee on Public Safety July 6, 2011 City Council Meeting
INVITATION EXTENDED TO CHICAGO MEDICAL SOCIETY AND AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION TO DISCUSS HANDS-ONLY CPR.
WHEREAS, Sudden cardiac arrest claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year. One of the main reasons these numbers are so high is because no bystanders at the scene do anything to help. According to the American Heart Association's website, only 31.4 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). When effective bystander CPR is given immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, it can more than double a victim's chance of surviving; and
WHEREAS, The American Heart Association announced a new way for anyone to help victims of cardiac arrest - Hands-Only CPR. Hands-Only CPR is chest compressions without the mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths. Since 2005, several studies have shown that Hands-Only CPR can be as effective as conventional CPR (with rescue breaths) in the out-of-hospital setting; and
WHEREAS, Some surveys suggest there may be a reluctance to perform conventional CPR (with rescue breaths) due to fear of infection and disease. Hands-Only CPR essentially eliminates the potential risk and fear, and could potentially lead to an increase in the survival rate of victims of cardiac arrest; and
WHEREAS, Moreover, an automated external defibrillator (AED), even when used by a bystander, is safe and, if used immediately, highly effective in terminating ventricular fibrillation so the heart can resume a normal, effective rhythm, further increasing the chance of survival; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Medical Society, American Heart Association, American Red Cross and the National Safety Council are preparing a public awareness and training campaign on CPR and AED use; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved, That representatives of the Chicago Medical Society, American Heart Association, American Red Cross and the National Safety Council are invited to provide testimony before the Committee on Public Safety regarding their CPR and AED public awareness and training campaign.
MARGARET LAURINO Alderman, 39th Ward