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

[peridito]

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 ?

I really hope he is ok.

One of the reasons why CPR stats are so low is because of the reason for the need in the first place (eg cardiac arrest etc) and also because often someone has been in an unresponsive state for a while before the CPR begins. It sounds like the latter reason wasn’t a concern for your brother and ICU will do whatever they can to remedy the former reoccurring being a worry.

Wishing him well here. CPR does help - especially when administered from the beginning as in your brother's case.

ICU is amazing-the staff in there do not give up where there is any hope.

He's in an induced coma - as poster upthread predicted- might wake him tomorrow .

@PurpleMustang

The “shaking” thing isn’t strictly true for all arrests. Depends on the arrest rhythm, the “shaking” ones are the shockable ones. But there’s two others that aren’t shockable, and they usually won’t improve until someone has gone through all the reversible causes that might have lead to the arrest. But not going to go into any more details than that because it’s not helpful to the OP.

Since OP’s brother was fit and well and out on a walk, fingers crossed for a shockable rhythm.

Another poster said they wouldn’t have moved him until he was stable, I.e. had a pulse again. That’s really not true, if the person isn’t in a shockable rhythm, then sometimes a scoop and run (to hospital) is the best that can be done, so the person can be in hospital and have a full team to look at reversible causes.

For all those worried they haven’t done a course or can’t remember the one they did, honestly, if you ever find yourself in that situation, any CPR is better than no CPR. Do something, even if you’re not sure it’s right. 999 and the best CPR you can manage is all anyone can ask of you.

But better still, get on a course and refresh regularly.

This sounds positive op. I hope you can get more positive updates soon. What a horrible wait for news for you.

OP, that’s very positive news. Fingers crossed for a good outcome. Will be thinking of you.

Oh how horrible for you all. Don’t worry about calling the hospital - they really won’t mind if you want to give them a ring. If it helps at all, he must be relatively stable to have been given a CT scan.

CPR is so, so important. If you want to learn, the Red Cross and St. John’s ambulance run training. Find a friend who doesn’t know how either and make them go with you.

Rates of success for bystander CPR in countries where first aid is taught routinely at school are more than twice the rate they are here in the UK. Everyone should learn.

Anyone looking for courses can google EFAW training (emergency first aid at work) - it's a full day, but you cover lots, including CPR. Many providers are cheaper than St John.

British Red Cross do two downloadable first aid apps. One general ‘adult’ first aid and the other is specifically for babies and children. They are free to download, interactive and easy to follow, both as a learning tool and a reference in an emergency.

www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid/first-aid-apps##

Because of covid the current CPR advice is no rescue breaths ,only compression

That's what happened with my dad. Look upon it as a rest for his brain and body after a massive shock. They will be able to do more tests as he regains consciousness. He might have a pacing wire in to regulate his heart beat at the mo, or that might be something they do soon.
Did you manage to get hold of his girlfriend? I hope she's ok.
St Johns Ambulance or British Heart Foundation should be able to advise you of First Aid courses (covid permitting)

Thanks again all .

pussycat I've texted girlfriend and had a reply . I still don't know whether she is on her own at the hospital or not . But I'm just sending her love and support . I don't want to be pestering her .

@peridito obviously don't know your family relationships but remember as his girlfriend it's you and other brothers that are next of kin in an emergency situation. Does he have children?

I think a phone call to her would be appropriate to understand what happened and what you can do to help. Unless relationships aren't good enough for that. She'll need some support and your brother need someone who's can legally make decisions on his behalf.

I will share my dad's story,

He had a heart attack and cardiac arrest in the street, a woman driving by stopped her car and started giving him CPR, someone else called an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived they asked if the lady was okay to continue CPR until they got defibrillator set up, they shocked him 4 times on the street then got him in the ambulance where he arrested again and was shocked again, on arriving at the hospital he flatlined twice and the doctors performed CPR on him and he was given a further two shocks. He was placed in to an induced coma and had stents fitted and also a cardiac ballon fitted that basically took over the function of his heart. He was also given cooling treatment to reduce body temp and preserve organ (brain) function.

Anyway even with all that he did recover and was discharged from hospital after 4 weeks, no brain damage, no organ damage, except damage to his heart obviously.

I know not everyone has the same outcome but even when it seems all hope is gone and they won't recover, there are still times it does happen.

Please ask any questions if you have any, it is a very worrying time xx

CPR is performed for a lot longer than 15minutes.

I hope he is alright.

@YoBeaches

She'll need some support and your brother need someone who can legally make decisions on his behalf

They are both very long term partners in mid 70's . Brother told me the other week that he was a member of Dignatas ,which led me to believe that he had considered options should his life ,as far as he was concerned ,become untenable .

But I honestly don't know what,if anything, they may have arranged between them ,to cope with a situation where a NOK might be called on to make a decision .

I don't know how to raise such an issue with her .What would I say ? What words would I use ?

I'd never thought about this ,oh dear .

They have no children .

I can't even really think what a NOK might have to decide ...are we talking turning machines off if he has another heart attack ?

My friend was also put into an induced coma after his cardiac arrest. When I went to see him, I had to leave the room and was nearly sick, he looked so poorly. It was at the time they were slowly bringing him round. He could control his limbs, eat or talk. I know it's a horrible phrase, but I thought he would be a 'vegetable' for the rest of his life.
This was some months ago now. He is back home walking, talking, making jokes, has bent the cinema with us. His memory is affected, but he has been told this is likely to improve in time as he's made such good progress so far.
Those early days after it happened were terrifying though. We weren't told much as the reality was they really didn't know and it really was a case of 'time will tell'.
I guess I'm just saying no matter how awful things look over the next few days and maybe weeks, unless you are told otherwise, don't assume it will be a bad outcome.
Wishing you and your brother best wishes.

Mustshow this is exactly the kind of forewarning it's good to have .Somehow I must pass it on to his partner .

Don't loose hope but the outcome is likely to be very poor. Even if they got his heart restarted, he could well sustain a hypoxia brain injury. But his friend gave him the very best chance by starting CPR.

So the fact it was 15 mins isn't necessarily a bad thing

Sorry, but 15 minutes definitely is a bad thing.

Sending good wishes to you all op...
Remember supporting his gf isn't pestering.
You both love the same man!