Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (or CPR for short) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation, or mouth-to-mouth, in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest.
History
In 1995, Rosaria Sanchez and Peter Choy pulled a five-year-old child out of The Lake in Central Park and resuscitated him. A week later, they were honored by the city for their heroic act. ("High Noon")
When Angela was attacked by the Hunters in 1996, she suffered severe industries and, with dawn hours away, she was not expected to survive the night. Minutes before sunrise, she nearly perished until Elisa Maza arrived and performed CPR on the young gargoyle. She regained consciousness which allowed her to heal through Stone Sleep. ("Hunter's Moon" Part One, "Hunter's Moon" Part Two)
Real World Background
The earliest known case of successful CPR in an adult took place in 1732, when surgeon William A. Tossach used mouth-to-mouth to resuscitate James Blair, a coal miner in Alloa, Scotland. The feat was witnessed by nearly four hundred people. Blair had been unconscious for 30-45 minutes and was considered dead but, after he was revived, Blair was able to return to work a few days later. [1]
It is currently recommended for amateur rescuers to emphasize early and high-quality chest compressions over mouth-to-mouth. This simplified CPR method involving only chest compressions is unlikely to resuscitate the person, but to prevent brain tissue death until there's an opportunity for defibrillation, usually with the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Production Background
When making "Hunter's Moon", Greg Weisman intended for Elisa's use of CPR to be correctly presented, with the overall goal to "to remind people that knowing CPR is a good thing" and perhaps inspire others to take a class and properly learn it. [2]
See Also
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
- CPR Training at the Red Cross
