Introduction
Cardiac arrest is a serious emergency. It's the result of an irregular and abnormal heart rhythm, which stops the flow of blood to the brain and other vital organs—and it needs immediate attention. People who experience cardiac arrest can die if they don't get help quickly enough, but if they receive bystander CPR from someone who knows how to perform chest compressions, their survival rates increase dramatically. If you're not sure what CPR looks like or you've never learned it before, this article will explain exactly what bystander CPR is and why it's so important in treating cardiac arrests.
The odds of surviving a cardiac arrest are lowest when the time between when the heart stops beating and when CPR is performed is longer.
The survival rate is lowest when the heart stops beating and no one performs CPR.
The survival rate for someone who experiences a sudden cardiac arrest without any bystander intervention is about 7%. The likelihood of surviving increases dramatically if you receive bystander assistance within 5 minutes: it jumps from 7% to 45%. If you get help within 3 minutes, your chances increase even more--to 70%!
The survival rate for someone who experiences a sudden cardiac arrest and receives immediate CPR is about 75%. This jumps to about 90% if the person receives bystander assistance within 5 minutes. If you get help within 3 minutes, the chances of surviving are even greater--about 95%!
If you start CPR soon after a person collapses, their chances of survival improve by 74%.
You should not wait to see if they are breathing on their own or check for a pulse before starting CPR.
If you are unsure whether someone is breathing, feel for air movement on the victim's chest by placing your cheek near theirs and looking for rising and falling chest movements. If there is no movement, begin rescue breathing immediately (see below).
Performing Hands-Only CPR: The most important thing to remember when performing hands-only CPR is to push hard and fast in an "intermittent" pattern--that means pushing hard enough so that when your hand comes up off of the chest after each compression it creates an audible snap sound like this: ~~~SNAP!~~~SNAP!~~~SNAP!~~~SNAP!. This allows blood to flow through the heart quicker than traditional chest compressions do since you're not allowing any time for relaxation between each compression.
Bystander CPR is something that everyone should learn, but only about one in four Americans actually does.
CPR is a life-saving technique that can be learned quickly and easily. The sooner CPR is performed on someone in cardiac arrest, the better their chances of survival. If you learn CPR, you might be able to help save someone's life!
CPR is a technique that helps someone who is not breathing and has no pulse. It involves pressing on the chest at a certain rate, then giving rescue breaths to keep oxygen flowing to the brain.
CPR is an important skill to learn, and it’s a life-saving technique that can be learned quickly and easily. The sooner CPR is performed on someone in cardiac arrest, the better their chances of survival. If you learn CPR, you might be able to help save someone's life!
If you know how to perform CPR and you see someone who has collapsed, you should give them chest compressions immediately.
- Lay the person down on their back and make sure that their airway is clear.
- Place one hand on the center of the chest and place the other over it--this will help make sure both hands press evenly on the sternum (breastbone). Press down hard enough so that when released, there's an imprint in their skin equal to two fingers' width below where they were held while performing CPR. For example: if your finger measures 1/4 inch from tip to base when pressed against something flat like a ruler or tabletop, then press down until an imprint about 1/4 inch deep forms under each palm (2 x 2 = 4). This depth may vary depending on how much muscle mass people have; lighter-framed individuals might only need half as much force applied per square inch than heavier ones do because there will be less resistance created by thicker muscles around bones like ribs--so experiment with different depths until finding one which feels comfortable but still provides adequate support for effective compressions!
Everyone should learn CPR because it could save a life.
CPR is a simple skill that anyone can learn. It only takes a few minutes to learn the basics, but it could mean the difference between life and death for someone who has collapsed and stopped breathing. You can learn CPR from a video or app, or ask your doctor if there are classes available in your area.
You might even want to practice on someone who's not unconscious: A dummy called Resusci Anne was created by Dr Peter Safar in 1957 as part of his research into resuscitation techniques; since then she's been used extensively by medical professionals around the world as an educational tool when teaching people how to perform mouth-to-mouth breathing on real victims of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
Conclusion
We hope you've found this article to be an informative and helpful resource. If you want to learn more about the benefits of bystander CPR, check out our other blog posts on the topic!