The American Heart Association has recently changed its guidelines for resuscitation following this year’s research. The new guidelines come two years before a scheduled revision by the American Heart Association and state that “hand only” resuscitation can be just as effective as traditional mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The hand only resuscitation method uses 100 compressions to the chest per minute and is only sanctioned to be used for cardiac emergencies. The American Red Cross has not yet issued a statement regarding this change.

As American society has become more and more obese, it is reasonable that the American Heart Association has created new regulations for cardiac emergencies, and I do realize that this change will make more people willing to jump in and health. Now with this change comes one caveat, and that is the publication of this new method. The media has taken this new method and spread it around, some even giving instructions as to how to perform this.

The danger of telling people to “Put one hand on top of the other in the middle of the victim’s chest” and “Push hard and fast, 100 presses a minute” is that you will see more instances of people who try to help and end up hurting. I am CPR, First Aide, and AED certified by the American Red Cross. I was taught where to push, how hard to push, and how to breathe for a person. If we have a bunch of DIY saviors out there who are trying to help and just end up hitting the wrong place and being ineffective, or who give hand only CPR to a person in a breathing emergency and not a cardiac emergency, how long will it really take before someone is killed or sued? The Good Samaritan law and its adaptations in most states only covers people who work within their realm of knowledge. Reading a website doesn’t make you qualified to give CPR, just as watching M.A.S.H. doesn’t qualify you to give a tracheotomy. So please, anyone out there interested in trying to save a life, take a CPR course, please. Get educated so you can save a life, not endanger it.