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Original poster

CPR for 15 mins ,dont know outcome ,airlifted to hospital

237 replies

peridito · 30/08/2020 12:37

Brother in 70's . Friend gave CPR . He must be gone ,don't you think ?
Anyone know if the airlifting might indicate that there was some thought that he might survive ?

OP posts:
OchonAgusOchonO · 30/08/2020 13:33

@PurpleMustang - I was told in actual theory the heart doesn't stop but shakes and stops working, so needs the defib to jump start.

Yeah. If the heart has fully stopped, the AED won't help.

OchonAgusOchonO · 30/08/2020 13:35

@peridito - Guess who's sitting here promising the universe that they'll learn how to perform CPR .

It's a skill we should all have. I finally, after 15 years of saying I would do it, finally did a course last year.

chergar · 30/08/2020 13:35

Is this your brother? Does he have family that are in contact with the hospital, can you ask them for any updates?

CPR is given to keep oxygen going round the body. If there is still a pulse or the heart is in a shockable rhythm you can use a defibrillator, a defibrillator will not start a heart that has completely stopped beating.

As he has been airlifted it probably means that his heart was in a shockable rhythm, they performed a shock (maybe even a few times) and when he was in a stable enough state he would have been moved.

AdaColeman · 30/08/2020 13:39

peridito, hoping you hear some good news soon, sending you kindest thoughts.

purplecorkheart · 30/08/2020 13:40

CPR was the one thing that my school Principal insisted that we learned along with basic first aid. It was only many years later that I learned that he paid the instructor out of his own pocket every year.

Namechange2020onceagain · 30/08/2020 13:43

@peridito

Guess who's sitting here promising the universe that they'll learn how to perform CPR .
Sorry this is so worrying. It sounds like CPR was started immediately so the chances of any brain damage should be minimal. The whole point of CPR is to keep oxygen circulating to keep the organs and the brain alive. Very few people come round from CPR alone, it usually needs defib.

Thank god for his friend. Do you know which hospital he is being taken to? Could you ring them to get an update?

I think First Aid and CPR should be taught in School to all children, it is such a vital skill.

ilovemydogandmrobama2 · 30/08/2020 13:44

A colleague of mine had CPR in ambulance for 25 minutes, and survived and returned to relative normal.

Fingers crossed for you [am not doing flowers here as would be a bit weird in the circumstances]

MaxNormal · 30/08/2020 13:47

Oh God love you OP the waiting is horrendous. Really hope that you get some good news soon.

Hotelhelp · 30/08/2020 13:48

Fingers crossed OP! Sounds hopeful from what others have said.

Louisa111 · 30/08/2020 13:49

Hope you get some need soon Thanksxx

rainbowruthie · 30/08/2020 13:52

Sending all good wishes to you

Original poster
peridito · 30/08/2020 13:54

I can't tell you all how grateful I am for the kind ,informative posts here .The explanations help so much .

It is my brother ,one of my brothers .I think it's best not to try to ring the hospital .

My heart is with his girlfriend . I can't find out if the pair of them were walking on their own or had company .The police surely won't have left her to drive her car on her own to the hospital .A long drive apparently .

OP posts:
Graffitiqueen · 30/08/2020 13:58

Oh how worrying for you! Sending you best wishes.

Ceebs85 · 30/08/2020 13:58

Gosh I hope you get an update soon

SirGawain · 30/08/2020 14:00

If he got effective CPR followed by Paramedic treatment the 15 minutes should not be too long. They would not risk an airlift if he was already dead or there was absolutely no hope, it’s dangerous to every involved.

Howallergic · 30/08/2020 14:02

I did defib training 3 years ago, and now you just do chest compressions apparently. On the dummy, it's very hard to do effectively, you'd really need someone to tag with you to keep it up. It's not as easy as it looks.
Our instructor told us that the longest anyone could keep up was 90 seconds (she was a nurse). I hope I'm never in the position of having to use my training as I'm not sure how much exactly I've retained.

Results after CPR are not as good as results after AED.

Hope your brother and his partner get a really good result!

GazingAndGrazing · 30/08/2020 14:09

I’m an ex emergency medical dispatcher. He would have had to be stable if flown by air as the space inside is too small to operate CPR in flight.

There would be an ambulance “chasing” the helicopter in case things changed.

15 minutes of on the scene CPR would have given him a very strong position as they were able to keep his heart pumping as soon as he collapsed.

Thoughts are with you all at this time.

Original poster
peridito · 30/08/2020 14:12

Gazing thank you so much for posting .

No replies to my texts from two of my other brothers ,which makes my heart sink .

OP posts:
TessTackle · 30/08/2020 14:13

Thinking of you OP.
Everything is crossed for you all Flowers

QuestionableMouse · 30/08/2020 14:13

@PurpleMustang

Wish this thing had an edit! Once the heart has gone into cardiac arrest technically it needs a defibrillator to 'reset' it. I was told in actual theory the heart doesn't stop but shakes and stops working, so needs the defib to jump start. Bit like a car. It is nothing like you see on telly.
I believe that's wrong.

A defib can't restart a heart but can reset an abnormal rhythm. You don't shock a flat line.

OP, really hope your friend is okay. He's in the best hands right now. Make sure you take care of yourself.

AlternativePerspective · 30/08/2020 14:16

I have had CPR but in hospital. My heart stopped three times, and when my parents arrived (which took them about 45 minutes) they were still working on me.

They don’t actually always use the defibrillator, but they usually administer Adrenalin as well as giving CPR I have also been defibrilated (different occasion).

And I have seen the crash team in hospital do CPR on a patient for over 25 minutes, Not a nice thing to witness, but when I went up for the test I was going to he was being taken up to ICU and they said he was going to be ok.

In my case I was fitted with a temporary pacemaker and then kept on a ventilator overnight. When I woke up I spent a couple of days in ICU and was then transferred back down to coronary care....

I have ongoing heart problems so my story doesn’t end there but I am here now and doing well.

If it’s any consolation, he will be completely unaware of anything that is happening to him. In my case they started compressions before my heart actually stopped to try to prevent it from doing so (heart rate had dropped to 5BPM and I remember that bit vividly, but once I arrested there was just nothing.

Just another thing, if they are successful he will likely be in pain. The impact on your chest and ribs is immense, so it’s likely he wil have bruising and possibly even fractured/broken ribs. But it does pass I promise.

Fingers crossed that you get some news soon.

sage46 · 30/08/2020 14:21

No news is sometimes 'good' news. Wishing you all the best xx

ALLIS0N · 30/08/2020 14:21

@peridito

Please don’t think that no news is bad news. It’s takes time for him to be assessed and treated, don’t give up hope.

Tolleshunt · 30/08/2020 14:23

Sending best wishes to you and your brother OP.

Zilla1 · 30/08/2020 14:25

At best, I've known CPR for over an hour before ambulance and recovery. The average statistics aren't fabulous but try to be positive, individuals don't have to follow averages.

Good luck.

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