Story by Bill Fortune/American Red Cross
National CPR and AED Week, June 1-8, 2019
In the back of our minds we all know that CPR, when performed properly, can save lives. Chances are, at one point or another, we have all thought about learning CPR just in case we needed it. Unfortunately, for many of us, it is just a fleeting thought that gets lost in our busy lives.
So, why should you learn CPR?
- Nearly 383,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually, and 88 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home.
- Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack.
- Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating.
- A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked. A heart attack may cause cardiac arrest.
- Statistically speaking, if called on to administer CPR in an emergency, the life you save is likely to be a loved one.
- Effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival, but only 32 percent of cardiac arrest victims get CPR from a bystander.
- Sadly, less than eight percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive.
Red Cross Stories of CPR
Father’s Day At the pool: “My four year old, 3’6” son, had somehow left the hot tub area and gotten into the adult pool. We ran over and pulled him out of the water, only to see his blue face and grey, still body, the color of pool concrete. He was limp, lifeless, his lungs gurgling – the image of what appeared to be my dead son.” Lifeguards recently trained in CPR by the Red Cross came to the rescue and the boys life was saved.
On the Golf Course: “It’s a good thing Joe remembered—or I wouldn’t be here,” Ralph says. While his friend Doug called 9-1-1 with a cell phone, Joe began CPR. With paramedics en route, Ralph’s heart started and stopped three times. All the while, Joe continued chest compressions. Ralph miraculously survived and spent three days in a drug-induced coma. Ralph knows it was his friend and son’s efforts and the CPR know-how that contributed to his survival.
So, what about you? Are you certified in CPR? Do you know the basics of how and when to do chest compressions? Will you learn CPR this year, or, wait until you need it and wish you had that skill set?
Learn more about CPR and how you can learn the skills or get certified at redcross.org/takeaclass.