Fear and language barriers keep some Latino people from performing CPR
By Lourdes Medrano, American Heart Association News
At a CPR class in Spanish in central Virginia, 拉丁裔社区的一些成员表示，他们认识到这项技术可以挽救心脏停止跳动的人. 但他们承认，恐惧和不确定性可能会阻止他们提供重症监护.
这种担忧促使目睹过这种情况的培训师不仅教授如何对心脏骤停的人进行正确的心肺复苏术, 但也要分享文化上合适的信息，以缓解人们的担忧.
"We address the hesitation, we address the fears," said Dr. Max Luna, 他是夏洛茨维尔弗吉尼亚大学拉丁裔健康倡议的心脏病专家和主任. The CPR class is one of the initiative's programs. "We focus on getting people comfortable with CPR."
Cardiac arrest happens when a person's heart suddenly stops. 病人失去意识，心脏停止向大脑供血, lungs and other organs. 心肺复苏术模仿心脏跳动的原理，通过胸部按压来保持血液在全身的流动.
More than 350,在美国，每年有000例心脏骤停发生在医院外, according to American Heart Association statistics. Cardiac arrests most often happen at home.
Research has found that Hispanic and Black people, including children, who experience cardiac arrest in a public setting – such as a workplace, 交通中心或娱乐设施——比他们的白人同龄人更不可能从非专业急救人员那里接受心肺复苏术.
At the Latino Health Initiative , 目标是增加准备在紧急情况下进行心肺复苏术的拉丁裔人数, said Luna, 他还是大学医学院心血管医学的副教授.
"That is a gap that we would like to narrow."
Luna said the initiative's CPR classes include information about AEDs, short for automated external defibrillators, 但没有正式的指导，说明如何使用简单的设备来恢复正常的心律. Once the AED is turned on, voice prompts guide the user through the process, but only some devices offer instruction in Spanish.
卢纳说，他和他的同事发现，西班牙裔社区的许多居民不知道如何进行心肺复苏. 语言是另一个障碍，因为并非所有911呼叫中心都有会说西班牙语的调度员. Other reasons include immigration status and mistrust of police.
"Some people don't speak (English), 他们真的很害怕拨打911，因为他们可能无法传达信息, 或者他们的家庭是混合移民身份，在心脏骤停的情况下，执法人员的存在并不理想," Luna said.
其他拉丁裔人担心，如果他们因无意中伤害了一个心脏骤停的人而被起诉，他们会陷入法律纠纷, he said. For example, high-quality CPR often results in broken ribs. So, 心肺复苏术培训师复习“好撒玛利亚人”法，该法旨在保护那些在紧急情况下自愿帮助伤者或病人的人.
卢娜说，用西班牙语提供心肺复苏术培训不仅可以揭开这个过程的神秘面纱, it also serves to raise awareness and reduce uneasiness.
In 2008, the AHA said hands-only CPR 在心脏骤停后的最初几分钟内，单靠胸部按压与按压和人工呼吸一样有效. Hands-only CPR is the technique Luna and his colleagues teach.
Maggie del Valle, a CPR trainer in Los Angeles for two decades, 她说，她相信同时使用按压和呼吸——每30次按压后进行两次人工呼吸——可以产生最佳效果. 但她明白，对于那些可能“担心疾病传播或不愿给别人呼吸”的人来说，只进行胸外按压是一个有效而良好的选择.
While del Valle's company offers CPR classes in Spanish, most of those who attend are medical professionals, such as EMTs. 她说，“只有很小一部分人”为了自己的个人利益而服用.
执行救生程序不需要正式的CPR培训和证书, according to AHA guidance. 要对青少年或成人进行徒手心肺复苏术，将一只手的脚后跟放在胸部中央. Place the other hand on top and interlock the fingers. Push hard and fast at a pace of 100 to 120 times per minute. Online videos also are available, including in Spanish.
拉丁美洲健康倡议对心肺复苏术培训的反应是积极的, Luna said, and plans are being made for a similar initiative in Black communities. “它必须针对每种文化量身定制，因为每种文化都有不同的需求, fears and concerns."