It’s National CPR/AED Awareness Week
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Do you know how to perform a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an an automated external defibrillator (AED)? Do you know how to act in an emergency to help save a life? As part of the National CPR/AED Awareness Week, the American Heart Association (AHA) conducted a survey about the ability of Americans to act appropriately in a cardiac emergency. And the results are a bit disappointing.
The AHA survey was done online and 1,132 responded to the survey, 162 of whom were African Americans and 150 were Hispanics. 89% or the respondents were willing to help in an emergency situation. The rest are not willing or hesitant to help out because of lack of confidence in their life-saving skills, concerns about possible litigation, or fear of doing more harm than good.
Only 21% of those asked were confident they can do a CPR when necessary and only 15% felt confident they can operate an AED.
According to the AHA Fact Sheet:
- Unless CPR and defibrillation are provided within minutes of collapse, few attempts at resuscitation are successful.
- Less than one-third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR.
- Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
- Even if CPR is performed, defibrillation with an AED is required to stop the abnormal rhythm and restore a normal heart rhythm.
Clearly there is a need for the general public who are untrained in medical interventions, to learn the basics of giving help during a cardiac emergency.
I have gone through a couple of CPR training programs. Once was at university as part of my training for International Red Cross youth volunteers. Another time was during a one-day emergency training in Germany which was a requirement for getting a German driver’s license. So far, I am lucky that I haven’t been confronted with a situation wherein I have to prove my life-saving skills. But you will never know when those skills will come in handy.
AHA trains more than 10 million people in CPR annually. Those who undergo training are not only health professionals but ordinary people like you and me. AHA tries to make the training simple and easy to remember. As an example:
In a previous post, we tackled the topic of AEDs. According to AHA
Interested in learning more about CPR and AEDs? Visit the American Heart Association site, or the AHA hands-only CPR site. Your doctor or your local health group can also point you to the right direction.
HART still has a lot of work to do ... if you see something that is broken, please bring it to his attention via contact page or inside Facebook! Thanks :D
Very inspiring! Thanks for dropping by.
Legendary TV Personality Mark McEwen has a new book out on life after stroke. In November 2005, Mark suffered a minor stroke while visiting relatives in Baltimore. The hospital misdiagnosed it as the flu and discharged him. A few days later, on a flight back to his home in Orlando, McEwen suffered a massive stroke during the plane’s descent. It almost killed him, and it might have been prevented.
McEwen, a talented and witty public speaker, suddenly found himself stuck in a hospital, unable to talk, swallow, or move half his body. In his new book, CHANGE IN THE WEATHER: Life After Stroke, McEwen’s writes candidly everything that happened next, in an intimate chronicle of inspiring perseverance.
Today, over two years later, McEwen has returned to much of his normal life—walking, talking, driving, and even going back on TV. With CHANGE IN THE WEATHER, McEwen has decided to share his story because “I want stroke survivors to know that they’re not alone. There is indeed life after stroke, and even in the most extreme cases, patients can expect to recover pieces of their old lives and graft them onto whatever new experiences lay in wait.”
In addition to discussing what we need to know about stroke and its warning signs, he can discuss his illustrious career and how stroke humbled him.
For more information on the book visit: www.markmcewen.com/