History of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, also known by the acronym CPR is an emergency procedure performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest. It is a basic, but proven first aid skill, practiced throughout the world. It is an effective method of keeping a victim of cardiac arrest alive long enough for definitive treatment to be delivered (usually defibrillation and intravenous cardiac drugs).

Prior to the inception of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, there had been some techniques to keep people alive developed in the 18th century, both in Japan and in Europe.It was not until the mid-20th century that James Elam and Peter Safar discovered and published the truly effective method known as CPR. Safar conducted research on existing basic life support procedures including controlling a person’s breathing airway by tilting back his or her head with an open mouth; and using mouth-to-mouth breathing. He combined these with a procedure known as closed-chest cardiac massage to become the basic life support method of CPR.

Throughout his life Safar was hesitant to take credit for "inventing" CPR. The way he saw it, he merely brought to light effective procedures that humans had already discovered, putting them together into what he called "the ABCs"—maintaining a patient's Airway, Breathing and Circulation. He worked hard to popularize the procedure around the world and collaborated with Norwegian toy maker Asmund Laerdal to create "Resusci Anne," the CPR training mannequin. Laerdal now is a medical equipment manufacturer.

Safar also created the first guidelines for community-wide emergency medical services, or EMS; he founded the International Resuscitation Research Center (IRRC) at the University of Pittsburgh, which he directed until 1994; and he was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in medicine.

In August 1767 a few wealthy and civic-minded citizens in Amsterdam gathered to form the Society for Recovery of Drowned Persons. This society was the first organised effort to respond to sudden death.

The society's techniques involved a range of methods to stimulate the body. The members of the society recommended:

The society in Amsterdam claimed to have saved 150 persons, within four years of their founding, with their recommendations.

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