Why Learning Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) So Vital Today?

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR, is a technique used to help a person whose heart has stopped pumping oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the rest of the body. By learning how to perform these easy, life-saving techniques, you can help a person who has stopped breathing.

Sometimes a person stops breathing because they have heart attack or stroke and their heart stops beating or a person’s heart rhythm changes and is not beating properly. A person may choke while eating dinner, or even receive an electrical shock. All of these are possibilities that could lead to death.

By learning the correct way to provide chest compressions, you can keep oxygen-rich blood circulating. And, by learning the proper way to provide “rescue breaths,” you can breathe for someone who has stopped breathing.  Without learning CPR, you may witness a loved one, or a perfect stranger, who is need of help and may only be able to stand by helplessly and wait for professional help.

The American Heart Association (AHA) encourages everyone to become certified in CPR. There are many reasons why taking the time to certify in CPR is so important. Let’s look at some facts and figures:

Without oxygen, the brain can only live for 4-6 minutes…that’s not long, and if you wait until professional help arrives (which can take up to 15 minutes), brain damage and/or death is likely to occur.

Without immediate CPR, less than 8% of heart attack victims survive long enough to reach the hospital. Less than 20% of victims have a cardiac arrest or other life-threatening injury in a hospital, which means the other 80% occur away from a hospital or a location where professional help is available.

You may be someone’s only hope…if you take the time to learn CPR. Below info-graphics shows the data of saved lives due to CPR training.