Why learning CPR matters

Heart attacks and accidents, the country’s leading causes of death, can and may happen at home, in your workplace, at the school, out in the streets, in the mall, just about anywhere. If you know CPR, you can help save lives. If you can, shouldn’t you?

CPR, which is short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is an emergency first-aid procedure for helping a person who has stopped breathing or whose heart has stopped beating. Among other reasons, a person may stop breathing because of trauma to the nerves or muscles that control breathing following an accident, because of near-drowning, because of drug or alcohol abuse, because of a sudden blockage in a major artery in the lungs or because of stroke. On the other hand, a person may just suddenly have heart attack (myocardial infraction) or a sudden cardiac arrest (arrhythmia) because of hereditary factors or on account of an unhealthy lifestyle. In any event, a person who has stopped breathing or whose heart has stopped beating could die unless CPR is immediately administered.

Without CPR, a person who has stopped breathing or whose heart has stopped beating has less than 8 minutes before he or she dies or sustains irreversible brain damage. The brain needs a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to survive. The brain itself cannot store oxygen. Following 3 minutes of oxygen deprivation, brain cells will begin dying. Since brain cells normally do not regenerate, the damage will likely be permanent. With CPR, it is possible to temporarily artificially restore breathing and blood circulation to the brain until professional medical help arrives.

Each year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), about 7 million people suffer heart attacks and sustain disabling injuries resulting from accidents happening right within their own homes and backyards that could be helped from aggravating with CPR intervention. These incidents include electric shocks, suffocation, substance overdose, severe allergic reactions, drowning, choking, and in particular, heart attacks. Based on AHA statistics, there is a likely chance that 1 in 6 men and 1 in 8 women over 45 years old could have a heart attack or stroke at some point in their lives. Moreover, it is also likely that about 88 percent, or four out of five, cardiac arrests can happen inside the home.  Thus, if you have undergone CPR training, the life you will save will likely be that of someone you love or at least acquainted with, that is, the life of your spouse, your parent, your child, a visiting friend, or your next-door neighbor.

In emergencies involving cardiac arrests, failure to provide CPR can needlessly lead to death. According to AHA, only eight percent of those who suffer cardiac arrests outside a hospital survive. However, if CPR is administered on time, a victim can get double, even triple his or her chance at surviving the cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, according to AHA statistics, only about 32 percent of victims receive CPR. An AHA estimate says that 100,000 to 200,000 lives each year could be saved by timely CPR intervention.

Take a CPR class today!

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