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Cardiac arrest, also known as Sudden Cardiac Arrest, is when the heart stops beating suddenly. The lack of blood flow to the brain and other organs can cause a person to lose consciousness, become disabled or die if not treated immediately.
The terms ‘heart attack’ and ‘cardiac arrest’ are often used interchangeably, but these are two different heart conditions.
A heart attack occurs when there is a blockage in the arteries that stops blood flow in the heart. Due to the lack of blood and oxygen flowing in the heart, the heart muscle tissue will become damaged. Heart attacks can increase the risk for cardiac arrest because heart attacks can alter electrical signals in the heart.
CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest.
If someone experiences cardiac arrest, they need immediate treatment to increase the flow of oxygen-rich blood to their organs. CPR is the compression over the chest to manually pump a patients heart. Rescue breaths are preformed to provide oxygen to the body.
During CPR, proper hand placement on the lower half of the sternum is crucial. Placing hands over the sternum ensures effective chest compressions directly above the heart, optimizing blood circulation throughout the body.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is around 10%. However, survival rates can be improved if bystander CPR is started immediately. Studies have shown that bystander CPR increases the chances of survival for someone experiencing cardiac arrest. In fact, the AHA reports that survival rates increases to 40% or higher when bystander CPR is performed promptly. The surival rate is between 24% and 40% for those that happen in the hospital, according to the report published online in the Emergency Medicine Journal.
CPR is preformed between 100 - 120 beats per minute. Famously Staying Alive by the Bee Gees is the same beat. A large list of songs with the correct BPM can be found here
The American Red Cross gives the following list of steps to asses if CPR is needed and how to preform:
1 CHECK the scene for safety, form an initial impression and use personal protective equipment (PPE)
2 If the person appears unresponsive, CHECK for responsiveness, breathing, life-threatening bleeding or other life-threatening conditions using shout-tap-shout
3 If the person does not respond and is not breathing or only gasping, CALL 9-1-1 and get equipment, or tell someone to do so
4 Kneel beside the person. Place the person on their back on a firm, flat surface
5 The American Red Cross CPR guidelines recommend 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute, 30 at a time. Remember these five points:
Hand position: Two hands centered on the chest
Body position: Shoulders directly over hands; elbows locked
Compression depth: At least 2 inches
Rate of compressions: 100 to 120 per minute
Allow chest to return to normal position after each compression
6
Give 2 breaths
Open the airway to a past-neutral position using the head-tilt/chin-lift technique Pinch the nose shut, take a normal breath, and make complete seal over the person’s mouth with your mouth. Ensure each breath lasts about 1 second and makes the chest rise; allow air to exit before giving the next breath Note: If the 1st breath does not cause the chest to rise, retilt the head and ensure a proper seal before giving the 2nd breath If the 2nd breath does not make the chest rise, an object may be blocking the airway
7 Continue giving sets of 30 chest compressions and 2 breaths. Use an AED as soon as one is available! Minimize interruptions to chest compressions to less than 10 seconds.
Sources:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/cardiac-arrest
https://cpr.heart.org/en/resources/cpr-facts-and-stats
https://www.mycprcertificationonline.com/blog/cpr-success-rate
Instructional images from the AHS Basic Life Support Manual (2020)
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I just feel like an impostor and am not sufficiently social to pull it off (like I will just sit and not strike up a conversation with anyone all night if left to my own devices and nobody will strike one up with me) so not really any more. I just don't fit. I like the grungy older gay bar vibe but there's still no point if I'm just going to sit at the bar and drink and maybe look at my phone. Plus at this point I don't even really relate to gay guys that much. I related to closeted gay guys a lot more when I was younger, cause I was one sorta almost.
I'll go with queer friends, very occasionally. The person from my friend group who wanted to go the most in the past was a cishet woman though, which always made me slightly uncomfy/feel even more like an imposter (showing up with 2 of my straightest friends, a het couple... not good), so going with friends is also a minefield.
I like the shithole bar vibe for some reason and keep going to these fucking shitty dives full of old alcoholics, but I never learn anything, I just get drunk and the social paralysis never really goes away. I'll talk to someone if they approach me, but it usually just peters out or is the absolute worst most horrible convo from said old alcoholics. Once in a very long while I think someone is hitting on me but I usually don't realize until after.
And that's all re: bars for the most part. clubs are twice as foreign. I missed that part of socialization in HS/college and I don't think I'll ever get it.
CW self hate
I would probably do better at bars if I was out and proud and didn't hate myself and my body. But idk what that would even look like for me and my social anxiety would probably still make it suck.