Open Heart Massage

Excerpt

Before the implementation of closed-chest compressions in the early 1960s, open cardiac massage was a common procedure performed during cardiac arrest. Open cardiac massage is typically performed on patients with inadequate cardiac output status, post-emergency thoracotomy for penetrating chest trauma, pericardial tamponade, or cardiac arrest after recent chest surgery. The development of this technique is attributed to Mortiz Schiff, a physiologist in the 19th century, who described open cardiac massage after heart function cessation in laboratory animals. Following this description, the first attempt of open cardiac massage was performed by Niehans in 1880. It was not until 1901 that Kristian Ingelsrud achieved the first successful outcome from open cardiac massage in cardiac arrest. The use of open cardiac massage became common after the 1920s, and the preferred method for cardiovascular collapse in the first half of the 20th century, after the report of 99 cases by Lee and Downs with a reported overall survival of 25%.