Abstract 021: Most People Who Need to Perform CPR in Their Home Cannot

Abstract

Objective: To determine by examining the physical characteristics of pairs of people who cohabitate whether each is physically capable of performing two-inch chest compression on the other. Methods: Name, gender, age, total body weight, and hands on scale weight (“HOSW”) data was collected from couples. HOSW is the reading on a scale when one is kneeling in front of the scale and pressing down with the hands as if performing CPR, until the knees barely leave the ground. One member of the cohort mechanically measured his chest stiffness. Chest stiffness for the cohort was calculated from a simplistic model where the measured subject’s relationship between chest stiffness and total body weight was assumed to prevail in all other test subjects. Doing so yielded an average chest stiffness of 128 pounds, as compared to the actual average adult chest stiffness of 130 pounds. A similar method was used with the heel of the foot. The result was FOSW, the force one could apply to a chest while performing Pedal Compression. A subject with an HOSW or FOSW equal to or greater than their partner’s chest stiffness was judged to be capable of performing guideline-compliant chest compression on the other using manual or pedal compression, respectively. The two outcome measures for each couple were: each’s physical ability to perform two-inch compression on the other, using manual and pedal compression. Results: At the time this abstract was submitted, data from twelve couples showed that slightly more than half the male subjects had sufficient HOSW to perform two-inch manual compression on their wife, and no wives had sufficient HOSW TO PERFORM a two-inch compression on their husband. In the 700 cardiac arrests in a private residence each day, two-thirds of the victims are male and will not receive two-inch compression. The results show the number of females and males that can apply enough force to their spouse’s chest to perform a two-inch compression with manual chest compression and pedal (heel) compression with FOSW at 95 and 90 percent of body weight. Zero of twelve females weighed enough to perform and seven of twelve males weighed enough to perform a two inch compression on their spouse using manual compression. One of twelve females and ten of twelve males weighed enough to perform a two inch compression on their spouse using pedal compression under the 95% of body weight equals FOSW model. Zero of twelve females and ten of twelve males weighed enough to perform a two inch compression on their spouse using pedal compression under the 90% of body weight equals FOSW model. Heel compression increases the likelihood of a male’s being able to perform a two inch compression significantly. Heel compression only improves a female’s likelihood of performing a two-inch compression using the 95% of body weight assumption.