It is a new year and that means it is a good time to brush up on your first aid skills, especially CPR. Every year, 383,000 cardiac arrests occur, and over 80 percent of these are in the home. Learning basic CPR can help to save the life of someone you love. Cardiac arrest can occur for many different reasons, and often without warning. If a person who is nearby knows how to perform basic CPR, the chances of survival for the victim can double or even triple.
Learning CPR
You do not need to be a first responder, nurse or doctor to learn and perform CPR successfully during an emergency. CPR is a basic skill and taking a course in it teaches how to preserve life until more qualified personnel such as EMT’s or a doctor arrives. CPR is essentially manual pumping of the heart to keep blood flowing throughout the body. This keeps organs alive until the heart restarts pumping or until it can be manually restarted by and Automated External Defibrillator.
Take a few minutes to look at these professional demonstrations and instructions from the University of Washington School of Medicine and refresh your skills for 2014. Just reviewing the demonstration could give you the confidence that you need to save the life of a loved one in need.
