Noting that due to new guidelines on blood donor criteria and eligibility - which may shrink the community's blood supply by 25 percent - Franklin's Blood Drive Campaign Director, Peter Giacopelli, states "Did you know that each pint of blood donated affects five individuals?"Residents age 16 (parental consent required) to 76, weighing at least 110 pounds and who are in general good health are eligible to donate. A photo ID is required at the time of donation, at which point donors will also receive a free mini-medical exam that includes checking temperature, pulse, blood pressure and iron count. To make an appointment to donate, call 256-6397. Free valet parking is available for the convenience of those coming to the hospital to donate blood.
Heart Association says death often comes with warnings
Sudden Cardiac death is not as sudden or symptom-free as previously believed, German researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association."A study of 406 sudden cardiac death (SCD) patients indicates that patients often have symptoms, especially the typical symptom angina pectoris (chest pain), for as long as 120 minutes before an arrest and two-thirds of cardiac arrest patients have a history that predisposes them to sudden cardiac death," said lead author Dirk Muller, M.D.,Ph.D.Sudden cardiac death results from the abrupt loss of heart function (cardiac arrest), usually because of interference with the heart's electrical signal.The data indicate that SCD rarely occurs "suddenly out of the blue," which suggests that it is important to give at-risk patients and families detailed information about signs so they can recognize warning symptoms and react accordingly, said Muller, cardiologist and emergency physician at the Medizinische Klinkik II, Kardiologie and Pulmologie in Berlin.In the study, researchers found that 72 percent of cardiac arrests, defined as complete cessation of the heart's pumping action, occurred at home and 67 percent of the arrests were witnessed by others.The 406 patients who had cardiac arrest were from 5,831 rescue missions performed by a physician-manned mobile intensive care unit at the University of Berlin during a one-year period.Of the 406 patients analyzed, 58 percent were men. The men averaged 68 years old; the women, 76.After the return of spontaneous circulation or resuscitation efforts stopped, Muller and colleagues collected detailed, on-the-scene information about symptoms and their duration from bystanders and the surviving patients.The researchers collected information about symptoms preceding arrest for 323 patients, including 274 who were "direct eye-or ear-witnessed collapses."One hundred and six patients had a history of coronary heart disease documented by angiography and 16 of them had a previous arrest and resuscitation.The most common warning symptom was chest pain with a duration range of 20 minutes to 630 minutes. Chest pain was present in one in four (25 percent) patients with witnessed arrests and in 33 percent of patients who had symptoms for less than one hour preceding arrest.Breathlessness was a symptom in 17 percent of witnessed arrests and in 30 percent of patients who had the symptom for less than an hour before the arrest. Other common symptoms were nausea, vomiting, dizziness or fainting.Bystanders performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on 57 patients, and 13 of them (23 percent) survived to hospital discharge. Among the 349 patients who did not receive bystander CPR, only 13 patients (four percent) survived, which the study found highly significant.Furthermore, bystander CPR attempts occurred much less often among patients resuscitated at home (11 percent) than at public locations (26 percent)."Training and prevention efforts should be focused on how to recognize the emergency, CPR training and automated external defibrillator (AED) use," Muller said. "Our study suggests that shifting the focus to educating high-risk patients and families may lead to earlier recognition, a quicker call to the emergency medical system (EMS), a higher percentage of bystander CPR and thus to a higher probability of survival in patients with sudden cardiac death."Co-authors are Rahul Agrawal, M.D., Ph.D. and Hans-Richard Arntz, M.D., Ph.D.Editor's Note: Each year, more than 330,000 people across the United States die from coronary heart disease before reaching a hospital or while in an emergency room. Most of those deaths result from sudden cardiac arrest. When the arrest occurs outside a hospital setting, most victims die because CPR and defibrillation were not provided soon enough. Although the American Heart Association annually trains more than nine million people, the vast majority of people in the United States do not know CPR. If more people performed effective CPR immediately after someone suffers cardiac arrest, thousands more lives could be saved. The American Heart Association's Family and Friends (TM) CPR Anytime (TM) training program is available at cpranytime.org.
Carrie Newton is named employee of month
At a reception hosted at A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility, Carrie Newton was recognized as the September Employee of the Month. Carrie Newton has been employed at A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility since Dec. 16, 1983. She is an invaluable member of the AHP team, especially to the Therapeutic Recreation Dept. Carrie Newton will do whatever it takes to fulfill a resident's request for a special food preparation or an additional condiment. She is a very dedicated member of the Dietary Department and one who truly deserves the Employee of the Month Award.
