Every year, approximately 750,000 Americans experience a heart attack. Unfortunately, 15% of these individuals will die as a result. Over 300,000 people of all ages lose their lives in America due to sudden cardiac death.
In order to increase the chances that more people will survive a heart attack, experts have recommended a widespread public placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). They contend that 522 lives could be saved every year in the United States and Canada due to the presence of these devices. It’s possible that even more lives could be saved when people receive CPR training
When someone has a sudden cardiac arrest, their chance of survival decreases 10% for every minute that defibrillation doesn’t occur. Their chance of survival can double or even triple when CPR is performed within the first few minutes following a cardiac arrest. Outside of a hospital setting, an individual’s survival rate is 1 in 5% when experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest.
According to a 2005 survey, 92% of the participants were aware that chest pain could be a heart attack symptom. However, just 27% of the participants were aware of all of the other possible symptoms.
It’s important to note that when bystanders had completed CPR classes, they knew how to operate these AEDs and perform CPR. As a result, survival rates more than doubled because they not only recognized all of the major heart attack symptoms, they also possessed the confidence and competence to perform the necessary actions.
Have you previously been certified to administer CPR? When was the last time you took a recertification class? It is recommended that CPR recertification classes should be taken every 2 years. This is important because recent data shows that 70% of Americans have either forgotten how to administer CPR or were never trained and certified before.
If you haven’t obtained a CPR license yet, or need to take a recertification class, it’s important to enroll in a CPR class as soon as possible. Whether you work in the medical profession or not, knowing how to use an AED and administer CPR is a necessary skill to possess.
Given the number of heart attacks that occur every year, it’s possible that you could be in a situation where knowing how to administer these procedures could make all the difference in whether or not someone having a heart attack will survive.
