CPR Minus Mouth to Mouth

Lifesaving technique more than doubles chance of survival

TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – The statistic is stark: if you have a cardiac arrest and you’re not at a hospital, nine out of 10 people will die. But CPR can more than double those survival chances. And, anyone can do CPR now.

This walk is a big step for Nicholas Smith and his fiancé Ryen Hauck. To put it bluntly, Nicholas died and then came back to life.

Smith told Ivanhoe, “I’m just glad that I came back as me.”

Nicholas says Ryen saved his life by doing a type of CPR not usually taught in class. That’s because she’d never taken the course.

Hauck said, “I just never gave up; I just kept on doing it. I knew I had to do it.”

Ryen found Nicholas face down on the floor with no pulse. She called 911, but she didn’t stop there. For about seven minutes, she did hands-only CPR

“When you love that person so much you know you want to do it for them,” Hauck explained.

Elizabeth Monforti, Fire & Safety Officer and CPR Instructor at Palm Harbor Fire Rescue in Palm Harbor, Florida told Ivanhoe, “Don’t be afraid during an emergency, make an attempt at CPR, it’s better than no attempt at all; and it gives the patient a survival rate of double or even triple the amount.”

CPR instructors say don’t shy away from CPR.

Monforti explained, “It needs to be done critically within the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest.”

There are a few simple steps: kneel at the victim’s side, place your hands in the center of the chest, then press hard and fast until help arrives, just like Ryen did. 

“If somebody doesn’t try CPR, then they’re not going to get lucky at all. I had that one chance,” Hauck told Ivanhoe.

Some other things to know about CPR: Good Samaritan laws in most states typically protect against liability, hands-only CPR is as effective as CPR with breaths for adults, pushing hard and fast to the beat of the disco tune “Stayin’ Alive” equates to about 120 compressions per minute. That’s the rate needed to keep blood flowing.

Smith said, “That seven minutes of CPR she gave was the most critical. If it wasn’t for her being there I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Hauck exclaimed, “It was definitely a miracle.” A miracle created by CPR and a deep love that wouldn’t die.

 The American Heart Association still recommends CPR with compressions and breaths for infants, children, victims of drowning or drug overdose; or people who collapse due to breathing problems.

Contributors to this news report include: Emily Maza Gleason, Field Producer; Cortni Spearman, Assistant Producer; Travis Bell, Videographer and Brent Sucher, Editor.