In Europe, there's a technic used, instead of CPR, that requires one hit to the upper-chest, what's it called?

Question:

I saw a lady that was having a heart attack be revived by a Chinese gentleman, who simply palm-heel struck her in the left, upper chest. I saw him later and asked where he learned it and what it was called and all I could make out from his broken-english was that it was used in Europe and that he had learned it in Honk Kong. I would like to pursue more training like this and more if it exists. One of my other friends does acupunture and they've never seen/heard of it either.

Answers:
This is called a peri-cardial thump. It is still used and is in the AHA ACLS protocol for witnessed arrest. It produces an electrical charge within the body the is equivalent to between 50-100 joules. Yes, it can revive pts in Ventricular Tachycardia or Ventricular Fibrillation. It does not help with pts in Asystole or "flat line". You really should take a basic CPR course from AHA, Red Cross, or other teaching organization. They will teach you the basics of CPR and what to do for a person who has a Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

Other Answers:
I think you're talking about the hymelic manuver (lol u know i spelled it wrong)

precordial thump

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precordial_thump

It is one of the first maneveurs that is done in CPR.

I guess if you watch alot of badly dubbed kung fu movie like myself you could call it Buddha's Palm technique :P It is called the "Pre-Cardial Thump" and USED to be taught in the US before the 70's, but it is not a very effective technique. You still see it sometimes on M*A*S*H re-runs.

The 'Thump' is OK if the heart is basically strong and just needs a quick 'restart', but most adults who need CPR have weak or ill hearts that will not restart that way. We use CPR in those situations in order to circulate oxygenated blood until people with more advanced techniques can arrive adn take over.

If the heart IS basically OK, you still need breathing support and more to successfully revive most people.

Even when the Thump was taught, it was assumed that in most cases you'll need more traditional CPR to follow up.

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In Europe, there's a technic used, instead of CPR, that requires one hit to the upper-chest, what's it called?

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