18 Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 18, 1987

Terrace ambulance service
life-saving CPR instruction |

TERRACE Annually in
Canada 60,000 victims die
of ischemia heart disease.
A large number of those
deaths take place outside
the hospital and usually
occur within two hours
after the onset of symp-
toms. It seems probable
that a large number of
these deaths can be pre-
vented by prompt, ap-
propriate treatment.

by Daniele Berquist

Cardiopulmonary Re-
suscitation (CPR) consists
of (A) opening and main-
taining a patient’s airway,
(B) providing artificial
ventilation by means of
rescue breathing and (C)
providing artificial cir-
culation by means of ex-

ternal cardiac compres-.

sion, said Tom Behm,
CPR instructor with B.C,
Ambulance Services.

A CPR course in-
troduces a person to a
complete system of Emer-
gency Cardiac Care, said
Behm. ‘‘That system is
designed to reduce the pre-
hospital deaths due to
heart attack’’.

AS a rescuer, a person
will have knowledge of the
signals of a heart attack
and the recognition of an
emergency situation. In
the situation of a cardiac
arrest, CPR must be in-
itiated within four minutes
said Behm. The rescuer’s
role as the first provider of
care is most crucial to the
patient’s survival, he add-
ed.

' Statistics show that 60
percent to 70 percent of
sudden deaths caused by
cardiac arrest occur before
hospitalization. It is clear
that the community de-
serves to be recognized as
the ultimate coronary care
unit, stated Behm.

The System of Cardiac
Care must not end with
the victim’s arrival in the

‘hospital. To be truly effec-

tive the system must assist .

the victim who ‘has suf-
fered a heart attack to
assume a lifestyle con-
ducive to good -heart
health, siad Behm.

The system must also
ensure that the victim is
familiar with all of the
signals of a heart attack.
The same system must al-
so ensure that the patient
is aware of the ap-
propriate action to take
should these signals recur,
Behm added. The victim’s
family also requires this
knowledge and they
should be taught the skills
of CPR. .

‘The ultimate goal for
the {Terrace area, said

, is to have a moti-
vated population who
practices the primary

yention of heart at-
tacks through the adop-
tion of a healthy lifestyle.
Second, that a least one
member per household
have the knowledge of
CPR, added Behm.

ete.

offers

i

ro few ane

(Left to right) Mike Dwyer, Sherri Yeast, Holly Simpson, Tom Behm and Cheri Hebert have just recently completed a CPR Instructor course with *
the Provincial Ambulance Service. (Missing from the photo: Ron Knoedler and Gord Bentham.

Three
courses

offered
in CPR

TERRACE — An intro-
duction, course to car-
diopulmonary resuscita-
tion (CPR) is being of-
fered by . Terrace Am-

bulance Services. The
course will begin when a

Minimum of 10 people

have registered for the
program.

Course A, will include
basic ‘Heart Saver for a
cost of $20. Course B,
Baby and Child Heart

Saver at $25. And Course .

C, Para-Professional open
to the Fire Department

A certification will be
awarded at the end of each
successful course. The
course is scheduled to

“paths.
PREARE
SEMICE

sivked

ABS" ioe |

begin with the first 10 peo- [ia

ple to register and will be
held at the building of the
Ambulance Services at

4804 Highway 16 west.

For more information,
please call 638-8898.

Mike Dwyer of the Provincial Ambulance Service displays the
new emergency number for the ambulance dispatch. -

In Terrace Court

In Terrace Provincial
Court on Tuesday, Feb.
17 James Shaw was jailed

two years less a day cur-

rent for breaking and
entering a place with the
intent to commit an indic-
table offence. Shaw was
also jailed two years less a

day current. for breaking

and entering a place and

commiting an indictable
offence. James Shaw was
also jailed two years less a
day current for mischief in
relation to private propet-
ty.

eet

Sudden death
is preventable

TERRACE — Sudden death from heart attack is the
most common medical emergency today, and the
number one cause of deaths in Canada.

By learning the basic A-B-C- steps of CPR, you can
deal with any emergency involving sudden death.
Prompt and proper resuscitation including rescue
breathing and cardiac compression, if necessary, can

‘save many lives.

The purpose of CPR is the treatment of sudden unex-
pected deaths. The B.C. Ambulance Services are offer-
ing a CPR course to begin with the first 10 applicants.
For more information call 638-8898.

Research continues

Hypertension, or ‘ab-
normally high blood pres-
sure, is one of the main

factors leading to heart

disease.

by Karen Enriquez
Terrate contributor

Computer aided recon-
struction of the muscle

cells are providing a clear

picture for the first time of
what happens before, dur-
ing and the development
of hypertension. It had
always been assumed that
hypertension caused en-
‘largement of the muscle
cells, but research has
found that for a period the

cells may actually be

smaller in blood vessels
carrying blood | from the
heart.

During this same peri-
od, however, cells in the
veins carrying blood back
to the heart have dramat-
ically enlarged. There the
blood pressure is very low,

so the pressure. per se is
not causing the enlarge-
ment.

It may be that the

nerves of the blood vessels

are the critical element
rather than the blood pres-
sure itself having a direct

effect on the enlargement —

of the muscle cells. |
More research is needed
to fully understand how
all the factors are inter-
related, and understand-
ing is the key to deyelop-

ing a prevention and,cure.

This work is just one of
the research projects: in
B.C. financed by grants-
in-aid from the Heart
Foundation. Grants-in-aid

provide equipment and

technical assistance for the
researcher.

Seventy-seven cents of
every dollar donated to
the Heart Foundation sup-
ports research, dedicated
to winning the fight a-
gainst Canada’s number
one killer — heart disease.

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