Ambulances will carry CPAP breathing treatments

Two new treatments soon to debut on Gwinnett County ambulances will help congestive heart failure patients breathe easier.

After June 1, people hospitalized with congestive heart failure will have a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine on the ambulance. The machine prevents a patient from having a plastic tube inserted into the windpipe — a more invasive and uncomfortable procedure, said Battalion Chief Rod Dawson, who oversees medical operations for the Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

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ANDRIA SIMMONS / asimmons@ajc.com

A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine will be available beginning June 1 for congestive heart failure patients on all ambulances operated by the Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

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ANDRIA SIMMONS / asimmons@ajc.com

(Clockwise from left) Gwinnett County Firefighter Paramedic Phil Klein, Medical Supervisor Lt. Brian Wolfe and Firefighter Paramedic Bryant Herndon attend to ‘patient’ Bob Hendrix, 66, of Lilburn, with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine in a mock emergency scenario. Hendrix is a volunteer who graduated from the Gwinnett County Citizen Fire Academy.

Patients treated with a CPAP machine instead of intubation spend an average of two fewer days in the intensive care unit and are less likely to suffer from complications such as pneumonia or infection, said Dr. Jeffrey Greenwood, a physician specializing in emergency medicine at Gwinnett Medical Center.

The county’s two leading hospital systems, Gwinnett Medical Center and Emory Eastside Medical Center, donated $16,000 each to put CPAP machines on all 30 county ambulances.

Congestive heart failure patients also will benefit from a new treatment called Post Cardiac Arrest Induced Hypothermia, which becomes available on ambulances after June 1. The treatment involves cooling the patient with ice packs and chilled saline intravenous fluid. The cooling process slows metabolism and decreases the brain’s demand for blood flow, helping to prevent brain damage, Greenwood said.