SEAL Survival Guide (75 page)
Read SEAL Survival Guide Online
Authors: Cade Courtley
CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)
Upon arrival, if you find an adult not breathing and exhibiting no signs of circulation, call for EMS if this has not already been done. If an
AED,
or
automated external defibrillator,
is available, begin attaching it to the victim. This is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life-threatening cardiac issues in a patient and is able to treat them through defibrillation by applying electrical therapy that stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm. If an AED is not available, begin CPR. If a child or infant is not breathing and has no signs of circulation, give CPR for two minutes immediately before calling EMS (if this has not already been done). Then resume CPR.
1. It is best to kneel a few inches to the side of the casualty in a position where you can place your hands directly on the breastbone, the part of the chest midway between the nipples. Put your hands on your ribs right now. Feel how the ends of the ribs curve up? This is where the ribs meet what’s called the sternum, or breastbone. This is where you put your hands to perform proper CPR. The idea of doing CPR is to get blood circulating through the heart. If administering to a child, use the heel of just one hand, while placing your other hand on the child’s forehead. For adults, put one hand on top of the other, centered at the breastbone.
2. To be effective, align your shoulders above your hands and straighten your elbows. You want to create a chest compression at the very center of the victim’s chest, which is best achieved by leveraging and utilizing the weight of your upper body. You press down with the heels of your palms while moving in an upward direction. Again, the point of CPR is to force blood to enter the heart, which makes it involuntarily begin to beat again.
3. Push down and make
thirty compressions
at a rate of approximately two per second. It’s recommended to count
aloud, which keeps a steady and regulated pace, as well as keeping your mindset focused on the job. For adults, use both hands to give chest compressions, pushing the chest down about one and a half to two inches each time. For children, use one hand to give chest compressions. Use the same rate, but press less forcibly, compressing the chest down only about one inch each time.
4. Once you have completed thirty compressions, tilt the victim’s head, pinch the nose, and place your mouth over the victim’s mouth (just as in rescue breathing). Give two breaths for an adult or child.
5. Repeat these steps four or five times.
6. At two-minute intervals assess for signs of circulation and breathing, and continue to perform CPR until breathing begins or until EMS arrives.
CPR, one of the most universally proven emergency lifesaving techniques, was invented by Austrian surgeon Peter Safar in the late 1950s. He dubbed his emergency medical method the ABCs and was nominated for the Nobel Prize three times for this and his other achievements. Unfortunately, although his method saved millions, he was unable to resuscitate his own daughter when she was stricken by a fatal asthma attack.
CPR: INFANT
1. Place two of your fingers on the breastbone.
2. Place your other hand on the infant’s forehead to keep the head tilted back and the airway open.
3. Using your two fingers, give thirty chest compressions. Don’t do as with adults, though—compress the chest only about half an inch to one inch each time.
4. With the infant’s head tilted back, cover the infant’s mouth and nose with your mouth and give two gentle breaths.
5. At two-minute intervals assess for signs of circulation and breathing, and continue to perform this method until breathing begins or until EMS arrives.
A good friend of mine went to work for the fire department shortly after leaving the SEAL teams. He had been in the department for only a few weeks when he made the front page of the newspaper for saving an elderly lady from a burning house. There he was, front page, giving CPR. John was just being John, however; you don’t have to be a Navy SEAL to do what he did—save a life!
On the flip side, another good friend, also turned firefighter, was given the nickname “Dr. Death” because out of ninety-nine CPR attempts he wasn’t able to save anyone. This wasn’t his fault. I tell this story to stress the importance of getting to the victim as soon as possible. It’s a race against the clock, and every second a person’s heart is not beating brings them closer to death. After about a minute without CPR, the chances of resuscitation are greatly reduced.
So, now that your injured person is breathing and has a heartbeat, you must identify other injuries and primarily stop any bleeding. You need to continue to monitor the patient’s vital signs (breathing and heart rate), as these can change at any time.
Stopping the Bleeding
You must understand and practice methods to stop bleeding in order to be prepared for an essential element of survival medicine. During catastrophes, accidents, and survival situations, expect to see blood. Whether the result of a bullet, knife, car crash, or fall, bleeding is bleeding and requires immediate attention. As you know, blood is our vital fluid, and if too much is lost, you’re dead. Take action, and don’t get freaked by the amount of blood you might see. The faster you can focus and remain alert, not panicking over the amount of blood you may or may not see, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to take positive actions to save your life or the lives of those around you.
First, examine the body for signs of major bleeding, such as large pools of blood or blood-soaked clothing. Expose the wounded area by cutting away clothing if you have scissors or a knife, or find a way to see where the bleeding is coming from. Blood loss has to be stopped, or the efforts in rescue breathing or CPR will be for naught.
When I was on SEAL Team One, my platoon chief, who had been a SEAL for sixteen years, was a truly tough guy—been there, done that—but he still couldn’t stand the sight of blood. We had to wake him up every time he had to get a shot. It was classic.
