Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is used to treat cardiac arrest. The person performing CPR gives oxygen by breathing into the person's mouth or by forcing oxygen into the lungs via an oxygen mask, while also compressing the chest to squeeze the heart between the ribs, so blood is forced into the circulation. CPR is a temporary measure used to perfuse the organs until cardiac function can be restored with defibrillation, if possible. Only 15 percent of patients who need CPR survive to return home, according to Arkansas State University. There also are side effects associated with the procedure.
Vomiting
Vomiting is the most frequent side effect of CPR, according to ASU. Because the person is unconscious, he's unable to clear it from his mouth himself; if the vomitus isn't promptly removed, he may aspirate it into his lungs. Aspirated material can also block the airway, making it harder to deliver air to the lungs. If a person begins to vomit during CPR, turn him on his side and clear his mouth before continuing.
Broken Ribs
The downward force exerted on the chest by CPR can result in fractured ribs, especially in the elderly, whose bones are more fragile. Broken ribs are not only painful; they can also puncture a lung and lead to mechanical ventilation and the need for a chest tube to reinflate the lung. Fractured ribs can also lacerate the liver or spleen. However, since the person isn't going to survive without CPR, and force is required to depress the chest, the possibility of broken ribs should not be a reason to discontinue or not to start CPR, 123 CPR states.
Brain Damage
A person receiving CPR receives only 16 percent oxygen per breath, as compared to the normal 21 percent, and the mechanical pumping of the heart delivers only 1/3 to 1/4 as much blood and oxygen to the tissues as normal heart contraction would, ASU explains. This can lead to low oxygen levels in the brain, which can cause brain damage. Brain damage starts within 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen, and will definitely occur after 10 minutes, according to ASU, so a delay in CPR or poor CPR may save the person but leave her permanently brain damaged.
Abdominal Distention
Abdominal distention occurs when air is forced into the person's stomach as well as into the lungs during rescue breathing. Abdominal distention can increase the risk of vomiting and also compresses the lungs, making them more difficult to inflate. When CPR is done in the hospital, putting a nasogastric tube into the stomach reduces this risk.
Aspiration Pneumonia
Vomit or loose teeth can be aspirated into the lungs, causing pneumonia, which complicates a patient's recovery and can cause death.
