Paramedics Learn More Effective CPR

New equipment is helping Redondo Beach firefighters perform more effective CPR—and save lives.

The is only the second fire department in Los Angeles County and the third in the nation to combine See-Thru CPR technology and a Zoll cardiac monitor, which tracks the patient's heart rhythm, as well as the rate and depth of CPR compressions, among other variables. The Advanced Resuscitation Training program was established by UCLA, UC San Diego and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

"(Paramedics) are going to approach the patient in a completely different way than before," said Bryan Pank of Zoll.

The monitor allows paramedics to take turns performing CPR without having to stop to check a patient's heart rhythm. According to Baxter Larmon of UCLA, paramedics should be able to trade places and resume CPR within three seconds of stopping.

Because the monitors have memory cards recording what's going on in the field, the paramedics can later check their work and find areas to improve upon.

"Studies show that this could quadruple cardiac arrest survivability in Redondo Beach," Larmon said.

Right now, King County, Wash. at 8 percent has the highest survivability rate for cardiac arrest in the country. The county is not using this protocol.

Redondo Beach, on the other hand, has a survivability rate of about 2 percent. With the new program, paramedics hope to increase that number to somewhere between 10 and 15 percent.

"(The protocol) changes everything," said Redondo firefighter-paramedic Steve Fernandez.