The Houston Department of Health and Human Services and the local chapter of the American Heart Association along with Rice University teamed up to do research about the air quality and cardiac arrest in Houston and found a bigger issue of Houstonians failing to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a bystanders in predominately African American communities in Houston.
Mayor Parker introduced Dr. David Persse, EMS director and the health authority for the city’s Department of Health and Human Services, and his team as she spoke about the collaboration between the city and the American Heart Association to do neighborhood sessions to teach CPR to the communities that their research has told them is at higher risk for cardiac arrest without the help of bystander CPR.
“It’s hard to see someone suffering and you don’t know what to do. Each of us has the ability with our own hands to save lives. Houston has an outstanding EMS system and been on the cutting edge of research with our public EMS system,” said Parker. “Recently the public health authority, Dr. David Persse and statisticians from Rice University examined health outcome data that’s related to Houston’s air quality. We noticed an unequal distribution of cardiac arrest and with further evaluation we also noted a disparity in bystander CPR.”
The disparity was found in Sunnyside, South Park, Riverside, Magnolia, Denver Harbor, 5th Ward and Acres Homes. Since June there has been 4,520 people trained in those neighborhoods on how to do bystander CPR.
“Due to the work of our emergency responders the local cardiac arrest survival rates are the best among the nation however the chances of survival are even better when a bystander can step in with CPR in those critical moments before emergency help arrives,” said Persse. “The Houston Health Department has initiated a partnership with the American Heart Association to provide hands only CPR training specifically in high risk neighborhoods that they identified.”
With CPR being reintroduced without the mouth to mouth component it should appeal to a much larger base. The lack of knowledge about cardiac arrest and the benefits of CPR have resulted in loss of life to many although Houston has one of the best rates in the country for surviving cardiac problems.
“There are certain things that make people hesitant to do bystander CPR like for instance we have taken out the mouth to mouth part because for many years people were afraid to do mouth to mouth and that’s no longer a part of CPR and people need to know that,” said Persse. “Its hands only CPR and actually its very easily done and not terribly strenuous but it is the bridge between when somebody collapses and when professional rescuers get there and we also know from our data that when someone performs bystander CPR it more than doubles that persons chance of survival.
The place that cardiac arrest happen the most are at home around family which is why it is an incentive that people learn CPR to save family. There have been thousands trained in the city and it is simple enough for a child to learn how to do.
Donna Travis, division manager of the Houston Department of Health and Human Services started the outreach education of CPR from the beginning. Her hopes is to continue the neighborhood training and encourages Houstonians to participate in individual sessions or organizations or churches can join in a partnership to teach and train individuals in CPR to save lives and communities.
Travis or anyone on her team can be reached at 713-527-4000 for any information.
