Fitness Files: A finger on the PulsePoint
“Read this,” my husband said, handing me Sunday’s Los Angeles Times.
He pointed to Steve Lopez’s column:
“Later this month, I’ll be marking the two-year anniversary of my death.”
Only a writer would be jealous of Lopez’s hook. Post knee surgery, Lopez went into cardiac arrest. A nurse’s quick CPR brought him back to life.
Lopez loves CPR.
We should too. The rest of his column tells how iPhone-toting people can save lives when their local fire departments adopt the PulsePoint emergency response system. Even if local fire agencies do not subscribe to PulsePoint, we should learn CPR.
Consider Lopez’s motivating facts and figures: Each year, cardiac arrest kills more people than lung, breast, prostate and colon cancers combined. In fact, every day cardiac arrest kills 1,000 people — who have had no previous symptoms. These healthy people suffer a disruption in the heart’s pumping action, an “electrical malfunction.”
This is the young athlete you read about, passing all physicals and collapsing at practice.
Back in 2012, I interviewed two of Children’s Hospital of Orange County’s pediatric cardiologists — rock stars, in my estimation. Anthony Chang and Anjan Batra spearhead the LEAPS Program, which provides EKG screening, CPR training and defibrillators in Orange County schools. These two eminent doctors volunteer hours to screen and train school staff and students, hoping to prevent the tragic headline “Teen dies at football practice.”
“Any program to increase citizen use of CPR will save lives,” Batra told me Tuesday.
Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Newport Beach subscribe to PulsePoint. Residents can install the PulsePoint app. They will be notified of cardiac emergencies within a quarter-mile of their locations, directing them to administer life-saving CPR until paramedics arrive.
Whether residents participate in PulsePoint or not, CPR classes are available in our communities.
Huntington, Fountain Valley and Irvine all offer CPR through their city websites.
The fall Newport Navigator and Costa Mesa’s Recreation Guide both list American Heart Assn. HeartSaver CPR classes focusing on adults and children.
“I teach American Heart Assn.-approved traditional and ‘hands-only’ CPR,” said Alicia Drozd, the energetic CPR teacher for Newport and Costa Mesa. “People are hesitant to use mouth-to-mouth except on family members. Hands-only CPR increases survival. I teach it to the 100-beat-a-minute rhythm of the Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin’ Alive.”
Rock out with Drozd and save a life.
Finally, I spoke to Costa Mesa Deputy Fire Chief Fred Seguin. “Recently our department offered Costa Mesa City Hall employees the hands-only 100-compressions-a-minute CPR,” he said. “We have defibrillation units on every floor, but lots of people choose to start compressions instantly while somebody calls for 911 and somebody else goes for the defibrillator.”
Batra, Drozd and Seguin agree with Lopez. Take a CPR class. Save lives.
Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a retired teacher who ran the Los Angeles Marathon at age 70, winning first place in her age group. Her blog is lazyracer@blogspot.com.