Seventy per cent of cardiac arrests happen at home.
The person people are most likely to give CPR to is someone they know. Take this example: Your mother is feeling fearful: she is nauseated, in pain, short of breath and sweating despite a comfortable temperature. Would you recognize the signs of a possible cardiac emergency, if she did not?
Help is not always immediately available. The average time it takes for an ambulance to arrive in a city is eight to 12 minutes.
Permanent brain damage can occur within four to six minutes after breathing stops.
That is why training makes a life and death difference If that hypothetical mother has collapsed, immediately someone leaves to call 9-1-1. The seconds tick by; someone asks, "Does anyone know CPR?"
People can learn CPR in as little as four hours. Recent changes in CPR now make it easier to learn and perform. Canadian Red Cross first aid and CPR training helps families and individuals learn CPR and many other important skills, which can save a life.
Performing CPR increases the window of opportunity for medical personnel to help. Performing CPR doubles the survival rate. Knowing what to do in those critical minutes can save a life. Another crucial component in the chain of survival is the use of an automated external defibrillator.
Canadian Red Cross training now includes instruction on the use of defibrillators. As those machines become more readily available in public areas such as shopping malls and recreational complexes, a bystander’s ability to use them can increase the chance of survival for someone suffering cardiac arrest.
Who should be trained?
Ideally everyone should be trained in CPR. At that critical moment, people do not want to be at a loss because Mom, the one on the floor, is the one who took the class. The more people at home that have learned the skills, the more opportunity for help in an emergency. Taking a class together could not only bond the family, but aid learning through discussion of prevention and making emergency plans.
As well, family members can practice and review together.
Do not forget the kids. Children taking first aid courses learn prevention, how to handle basic injuries and are more likely to continue first aid as they get older.
That is why Canadian Red Cross has youth programs like PeopleSavers, to teach skills to children aged 5 to 12 years old. Tweens 11 years or older can take the babysitting course to learn responsibilities of a babysitter, safety tips for children of all ages, basic child care skills, how to prevent injuries and what to do in case of an emergency.
Find out today how you can be ready to help a friend or loved one when they need you. Visit www.redcross.ca or call the local Red Cross office.
