Pioneering AHA training kiosks provide hands-only CPR skills

Heart Care Foundation of India too is actively engaged in teaching this life-saving skill to the public

More than 100,000 people have been trained in the life-saving skill of hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) since the American Heart Association (AHA) launched its hands-only CPR training kiosk program in 2016.

As part of the program that is nationally supported by Anthem Foundation, AHA has placed 30 of these interactive devices in cities across the country.  The majority of the hands-only CPR training kiosks are located in high-traffic, public locations, such as airport, across the US.

A pilot kiosk was developed in 2013, which was placed at Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) airport. Research published in journal Resuscitation showed there was noticeable interest by the public to learn Hands-Only CPR through the use of the kiosk. During a 32-month period from July 2013 to Feb. 2016, nearly 23,500 visitors tried the device.

Each kiosk has a touch screen that displays a brief instructional video about Hands-Only CPR, followed by a practice session and a 30-second test. With the help of a practice manikin, the kiosk gives precise training feedback about the depth and rate of compressions -- factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR. The training session takes about five minutes. Data from the kiosks, including the Association’s pilot kiosk at DFW Airport, recorded 230,547 visits and 110,649 people trained through June 30, 2018. The AHA had launched a hands-only CPR campaign to raise awareness about CPR in 2009. And, nearly 10.1 million people have been trained in hands-only CPR since 2012 through various events.

The Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) too has been actively engaged in teaching the life-saving skill of hands-only CPR to the public since 2014 via weekly camps at schools, colleges including government sectors like MCD, NDMC. It is an ongoing training program.

HCFI has also been creating awareness on the need to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places.

In 2015, the Foundation undertook a program to train all operational PCR vans constables in hands-only CPR as they are usually the first responders.

To educate the general public, we created a Formula of 10 for easier recall “within 10 minutes of death (earlier the better), at least for the next 10 minutes (longer the better), compress the centre of the chest of the victim, effectively and continuously, with a speed of 10×10 i.e. 100 per minute”. 

CPR 10 is an effective way for the public to remember the process of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or revival after sudden cardiac death.

So far, we have trained around two lakh people in CPR 10. We have 1300 CPR training manikins. At a time, two people can be trained on one manikin.

HCFI was recognized by the Limca Book of World Records in three distinct categories in its 2014 edition.

·         Most people trained in hands-only CPR 10 in a short time span: 11,453 students (8,193 female and 2630 males) trained in less than 8 hours on April 6, 2013

·         Maximum number of people trained in hands-only CPR during an event: 10,932 people trained in hands-only CPR 10 during the 19th Perfect Health Mela from November 1 to 16, 2013

·         Maximum number of people trained in hands-only CPR: 20,592 people in hands-only CPR in 43 days

The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Delhi High Court has recently accepted and converted a representation filed by the Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) into Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the issue of CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine in public places such as courts, railways and metro. The move comes after various applications were filed by the HCFI to several bodies indicating the absence of AED machines in public places and lack of training in CPR technique.

Over the years, I have seen many success stories of lives being saved using this technique and I hope that I can train more and more people in the future

So, when you come across a victim of cardiac arrest, three simple rules must be followed:

·         Call the ambulance

·         Check if the person is breathing or has a pulse and

·         If not, then start chest compressions and continue for at least 30 minutes till medical help arrives.

Remember, don’t stop CPR too soon …

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

Vice President CMAAO

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Immediate Past National President IMA