You are on page 1of 2

Some Facts about CPR

CPR is one of the techniques to aimed at maintaining blood flow following card iac arrest. More than 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest in the USA each year, making it the leading cause of death in adults. Without interventions such as C PR, death can occur in as quickly as eight to 10 minutes following cardiac arres t. Purpose Following cardiac arrest, the heart stops and no blood flows to the brain and ot her organs of the body. The heart and brain, in particular, rely on a continuous supply of blood and oxygen. Interruption of blood flow can result in brain dama ge as quickly as four minutes following cardiac arrest. The goal of CPR is to co ntinue to provide a small amount of blood and oxygen to the tissues to prevent p ermanent damage. History One man Called Friedrich Maass as German physician is credited with the first su ccessful resuscitation using chest compressions in 1892. CPR, as it is known tod ay with integrated cardiac compressions and rescue breaths, was developed in 196 0. The American Heart Association, a key player in training both health-care pro fessionals and the general public, began its education programs at this same tim e. Survival Rates Immediate CPR can double or triple a sudden cardiac arrest victim s chances of sur vival, notes the American Heart Association. Although CPR rarely corrects the un derlying problem, it does provide the victim with additional time prior to recei ving more advanced interventions such as cardiac defibrillation. Safety The article published in Circulation in 2005 details the CPR procedure for child ren and infants. The first step in CPR is to ensure the area surrounding the chi ld or infant is safe for the first aider to attempt CPR. If the child or infant is in further danger, it is necessary to move them before beginning CPR. Hands Only CPR In hopes of increasing the rates of CPR provided by bystanders, the American Hea rt Association encourages you to become aware of a newly promoted technique invo lving continuous chest compressions, also called hands-only CPR. In this techniq ue, the person assisting only provides hard and fast compressions to the victim without rescue breaths, which greatly improves the chance for survival for the v ictim compared to no intervention. Training The American Heart Association and Red Cross offer are professionals and the lay public. The American than 12 million people per year in how to perform ross trains additional 15 million in CPR and other training courses for health-c Heart Association trains more CPR, while the American Red C lifesaving skills.

For more information about CPR visit : http://cprcertificationtraining.net/

You might also like