May 29, 2020
1) We are coming up on a big week for the American Heart Association. Tell us about CPR & AED Awareness Week
- a. The first week of June each year is National CPR and AED Awareness Week, spotlighting how lives can be saved if more Americans know CPR and how to use an AED.
- b. About 70% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes. If you’re called on to give CPR in an emergency, you will most likely be trying to save the life of someone you love. Being in a more rural state, we also know that when calling 911 it may take emergency teams anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to reach you, so CPR can truly mean the difference between life and death. Plus, only about 46% of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive the immediate help they need before professional help arrives. When a person has a cardiac arrest, CPR could triple their chance of survival.
2) Is CPR a difficult thing to learn?
- a. Not at all! The American Heart Association has been promoting “Hands-Only CPR” for years now, and it takes this life-saving skill and breaks it down to two simple steps – Step 1: Call 9-1-1. Step 2 – Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.
- b. If you can keep the beat to tunes like “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z or even “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira, you’ll be getting in the necessary 100-120 compressions per minute needed.
3) Where can people learn how to do this simple skill?
- a. This CPR Week, we are asking people to take just 90 seconds to watch a training video and learn how to save a life by visiting www.heart.org/handsonlyCPR
- b. Along with this, the American Heart Association worked with our legislature to make CPR a requirement for all graduating high school seniors, so we are seeing thousands of our youth learn this skill every year.
- c. It’s easy to do, it can save a life and EVERYONE should know how to perform Hands-Only CPR.
This content was originally posted on the WDTV News website here.
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