(CE) CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Lesson Four

CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

image of person performing CPRIf you were with someone who had a heart attack or almost drowned, would you know what to do? When blood flow or breathing stops, seconds count. Permanent brain damage or death can happen quickly. If you know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), you could save a life. CPR is an emergency procedure for a person whose heart has stopped or is no longer breathing. CPR can maintain circulation and breathing until emergency medical help arrives.

CPR Facts

  • About 80% of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home, so being trained can mean the difference between life and death for a friend or family member.
  • Effective bystander CPR, if started right away, can double a victim's chance of survival and recovery.
  • CPR helps maintain vital blood flow to the brain and heart and increases the amount of time that a shock from a AED can be effective.
  • Around 95% of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching definitive care at the hospital.
  • If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved.
  • Brain death starts to occur 4 to 6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time.
  • If bystander CPR is not provided, a sudden cardiac arrest victim's chances of survival fall around 10% for every minute of delay until defibrillation.
  • There are close to 300,000 emergency medical services-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the United States.

Watch the videos below which shows the proper technique for administering CPR.

Adult, Child, and Infant CPR

Hands Only CPR

Even if you haven't had training, you can do "hands-only" CPR for a person whose heart has stopped beating. "Hands-only" CPR uses chest compressions to keep blood circulating until emergency help arrives. If you've had training, you can use chest compressions and rescue breathing. Rescue breathing helps get oxygen to the lungs for a person who has stopped breathing. To keep your skills up, you should repeat the training every two years.

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