All educational centers in Extremadura have defibrillators and the teachings on first aid appear in the new curricula
After the episode that occurred during the Cádiz-Barcelona match, in which a man suffered a heart attack and a cardiologist from Extremadura jumped onto the pitch to give precise instructions to the health teams, the specialists recall that it is vital to recognize a cardiorespiratory arrest and know how to act. But there are not always so many resources nearby to save a life.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Spain. More than 70,000 people suffer an acute myocardial infarction each year, of which around 30,000 die of cardiorespiratory arrest before reaching hospital.
Anyone can suffer a cardiac arrest, so it is vital to know how to recognize it. If a person is next to us unconscious and does not respond, he is in cardiorespiratory arrest, so we must act quickly. We must immediately call 112 and start cardiopulmonary resuscitation without waiting for an ambulance to arrive. There is no time to lose, those minutes are vital.
Specialists say that every minute that passes reduces survival by 10%. It is estimated that approximately 80% of deaths from this cause occur at the patient’s home, and most are witnessed by relatives or friends who, in most cases, do not perform any maneuver on the patient.
What is taught in Extremaduran schools?
All educational centers in Extremadura have defibrillators. In the primary schools they were installed by the two councils, while their installation in the institutes was carried out by the Ministry of Education. The Board ensures that to the extent that they have been placed, courses have been taught on their management in educational centers.
For this 2022-2023 academic year, the Ministry has planned 20 training actions on action protocols for health emergencies and first aid, “a plan whose details are still being finalized with the teacher and resource centers and educational centers.”
It is taught in Primary and ESO
Teachings on first aid appear in the new educational curricula. First aid is taught in the area of Physical Education in the third cycle of Primary and in the subject of Physical Education in all ESO courses. In the Baccalaureate curriculum it appears in the subject of Physical Education and in the optional subject of Physical Activity and Health.
The action protocol for health emergencies in educational centers is available on the Educarex platform (see at the end of this article).
How should we act?
The set of measures applied to reverse cardiac arrest is called cardiopulmonary resuscitation. According to the Spanish Society of Cardiology, two levels are distinguished: basic life support and advanced cardiac life support. The first is the one that uses methods that do not require special technology and that any of us can do: airway opening, mouth-to-mouth ventilation, cardiac massage “and lately there is a tendency to include a defibrillator.” Advanced cardiac life support should be a continuation of basic life support. Here the defibrillator, venous cannulation, orotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation with enriched gas and drugs come into play.
This should be the fastest response to a cardiac arrest:
1. Recognition. Check if the person is conscious and breathing.
2. If not breathing (or in doubt), call 112 and start chest compressions.
3. Practice CPR maneuvers (100-200 compressions per minute on the lower third of the sternum).
4. Ask a third person to locate the nearest defibrillator.
5. Follow the defibrillator’s instructions to deliver the shocks.
6. Continue CPR maneuvers until the ambulance arrives.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.