You Should Learn Life Saving CPR - First Aid Training
I worked in a hospital in a busy cardiac unit. Needless to say first aid CPR training was a mandatory requirement of the job. Everyone in the unit took the training, even administrative personnel who weren't involved with the patient directly. I always thought that learning the steps on performing CPR was a vital and very important thing to know in every day life too.
If you need a reason to look into first aid CPR training, consider this. It's estimated that over 300,000 American die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. Over 3/4 of these victims suffer their cardiac arrest in their own home.
Here is another statistic for you to consider, without immediate and effective CPR a person's chance of survival decreases 10% per minute. Receiving bystander CPR can double or triple a person's chance of surviving. These statistics should be enough reason for you to take the time to become certified in first aid cpr training.
In April of 2008 the American Heart Association changed CPR guidelines for adults. They are advocating a much easier hands-only CPR method. There were many reasons for this change. One is that bystanders were reluctant to initiate CPR because they were afraid that they'd "get it wrong" or "do harm". According to the American Heart Association the worst thing you can do as a bystander is nothing. People were also afraid of putting their mouth on the mouth of a stranger.
For many years emergency medical personnel have witnessed an interesting phenomenon. They noted that some cardiac arrest victims would actually "wake up" while receiving chest compressions. They would then lose consciousness again when breaths were given.
The new guidelines for hands-only CPR are very simple, and if you have had first aid CPR training in the past they'll be even easier. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitations are out for adult cardiac arrest victims. However, victims of drowning or drug overdoses will still need breaths. The hands are placed in the same position, with fingers intertwined and with the heel of the hand in the center of the chest between the nipples. Compressions are to be given at a rate of 100 per minute, and according to medical professionals should be given "hard and fast" and uninterrupted. Compress the chest two inches.
If you are in an area that has an automatic external defibrillator or AED available use the AED after one minute of unsuccessful hands-only CPR.
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