CPR saves lives. This emergency first aid procedure can make all the difference in cases where someone’s breathing has stopped or their heart has stopped beating, improving their chances of survival until the first responders arrive. CPR training courses are offered by many local groups and teach the right technique to revive a patient using chest compressions and rescue breaths.
What is CPR?
CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a way of restarting the breathing when it has stopped due to an emergency or accident like cardiac arrest or near-drowning. It can help to restart breathing and keep the patient alive until emergency services first responders arrive on the scene. As many as 350,000 cases of cardiac arrest occur outside hospitals every year.
If a bystander performs CPR, it improves the patient’s chance of survival. Without this emergency procedure, the chances of survival diminish by 7% with every minute that passes until emergency personnel arrive. This makes CPR a lifesaving technique of great importance.
How it works
The technique can be learned in a basic life support class, and works by restarting the blood circulation. When the heart stops, so does the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain and other organs. This can cause death in as little as eight to ten minutes. Basic first aid training teaches people to perform cpr to restart the heart and the blood supply, keeping the patient alive until professional help arrives.
This can also be crucial in preventing any further harm and especially in stopping brain damage. Untrained person can also try and revive a patient whose heart has stopped beating, but cpr classes can help them to use the correct technique, alternating chest compressions and rescue breaths.
Getting CPR training
The local red cross, YMCAs, and community centers all offer CPR classes on a regular basis. These are open to anyone, but are especially useful for anyone who works in settings like medical or dental clinics, schools, daycare centers, hotels or assisted living facilities. Most CPR training courses also teach how to use an automated external defibrillator or AED. Using an AED can improve the process of restoring blood circulation.
CPR can be performed on anyone over a year old, but techniques for infants are different. Courses can be taken in person or online.
CPR is an emergency procedure that can make all the difference in saving a life when someone’s heart or breathing has stopped. A training course can teach the right techniques, making the procedure more effective and improving the patient’s chances or survival and a good recovery.