'CPR saved my life': Iowa woman's survival underscores new lifesaving guidelines
Trisha Flaherty-Barnes lay in a Des Moines hospital bed for nearly a week in a coma. Last May, she collapsed, suffering cardiac arrest at her home. Her husband knew CPR.
"A lot of times it's hard for me because I don't have a memory of the worst part of what happened," Flaherty-Barnes said.
"He was trying to call 911, but that was the day that 911 went down in the entire county," Flaherty-Barnes said. "He was dialing the regular non-emergency number while giving me hands-only CPR. He did that for 13 minutes until the medics arrived."
While en route to the hospital, paramedics used a mechanical CPR device called a LUCAS device for another 14 minutes. The machine mimics manual chest compressions.
Flaherty-Barnes credits CPR with saving her life. .
UnityPoint Health clinical education specialist, Eric Hamer, teaches first responders different CPR techniques after spending years as a LifeFlight nurse working on board a helicopter. He said the LUCAS device is a valuable tool to use when necessary. Many central Iowa fire departments and medics have them.
"If you are taking someone from one place to another, the LUCAS device will keep CPR going in a safe way," he said. "You are kind of multi-tasking a lot in those scenarios, so you really try to focus on doing what you can when you can."
The American Heart Association has never recommended routine mechanical CPR. However, the latest recommendations make an exception for using those devices, such as when prolonged CPR is needed or other medical treatment is being administered at the same time. Hamer says it does not change how first responders give lifesaving care.
"Do what makes sense," Hamer said. "If it makes sense to do manual compressions, don't delay."
A year and a half after her life-altering condition, Flaherty-Barnes has a new outlook on life.
"I always say that the worst pain that I dealt with in all of this was the broken ribs," she said with a smile. "I can't complain about that because that's CPR saved my life."
She now has an internal defibrillator and shares her story about heart health with women, encouraging everyone to learn CPR.
In a statement, the American Heart Association, Iowa division, says:
"When it comes to cardiac arrest, seconds matter. That’s why the American Heart Association emphasizes immediate intervention with CPR and the use of an AED to provide care until EMS arrives. Mechanical CPR devices are used by health care professionals in specific settings."
To learn more about the and CPR course offered through the AHA, click .
From 2014: More CPR machines helping save lives
