The sudden stop or irregular functioning is known as a sudden cardiac arrest that interferes with normal blood flow. This interference affects all of the vital organs in the body and prevents normal breathing leading to unexpected death.
Sudden cardiac arrest is known to be a leading cause of instant death in many cases. In the U.S., SCA is responsible for around 325,000 deaths each year, and according to CDC, 9 in 10 people who experience a sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die due to the lack of received help.
This is why learning how to perform CPR is so important. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of learning CPR, how it works, and how to perform it correctly. Read the text below to learn how to save someone’s life.
What Is CPR And How Does It Work
CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a life-saving medical technique that helps patients suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. This medical procedure comprises chest compressions combined with artificial ventilation to restore the normal heart rhythm and blood flow. It helps reduce any additional brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen.
CPR should be performed on every unresponsive person who does not show signs of breathing. Chest compressions help the heart resume its normal function of pumping blood, while artificial ventilation helps the patient start breathing independently. It is important to note that SCA is not the same as a heart attack, as heart attack victims do not need CPR.
6 Benefits of Knowing How to Perform CPR
Knowing how to perform this useful life skill has many benefits, but here are the top 6 most important.
It Helps Save Lives
Immediately performing CPR after a victim has received a sudden cardiac arrest doubles or triples the survival chances. Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation is crucial in situations like these even if the victim does not regain consciousness. The immediate response helps to keep the victim alive until the emergency medical team arrives.
Not doing anything is the worst thing to do in an emergency situation. If CPR is not performed until the medical professionals arrive, the chances for survival are significantly lower and could lead to serious brain damage and even death.
It Helps Easily Identify the Signs Of an SCA
CPR training does not only teach you how to perform CPR, but it also teaches you how to identify the signs and symptoms of a sudden cardiac arrest. When a person needs medical attention, it is important to identify the symptoms to know what action needs to be taken. It is very common for people to confuse a cardiac arrest with a heart attack, which doesn’t require CPR.
Knowing when to stop performing CPR is also very important. The three key signs of a sudden cardiac arrest are sudden collapse, no pulse, and no breathing.
Reduces the Risk of Brain Damage
After the brain stops receiving oxygen, brain cells start to die. The lack of oxygen in the brain can lead to severe brain damage and even death, which can happen during a sudden cardiac arrest. Irreversible brain damage to the victim is caused in a matter of minutes.
The response time for the emergency medical team is around 4 to 8 minutes, if not more, during which time correctly receiving CPR can reduce the risk of brain damage. Immediate action shows how much even the slightest effort can make a change.
Increased Survival Rates
According to the American Heart Association, 88 percent of sudden cardiac arrests happen at home, and only 32 percent of victims receive CPR. This is because around 70 percent of Americans do not know how to perform this crucial procedure.
The statistic shows that because of this, less than 8 percent of victims who suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest outside of the hospital survive. In order to increase the survival rates, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be learned by everyone and not only by those who have the need for it because SCA can happen to anyone.
A Useful Skill for Many Occasions
If you decide to take combined classes that cover first aid and CPR, you’ll be prepared no only for saving a victim from a sudden cardiac arrest, but also provide help to victims in various emergencies. In addition, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, aside from being performed during a SCA, it’s also helpful when someone is choking, drowning, or suffering from an anaphylactic shock.
This life-saving technique is commonly performed during car accidents, something that has become very frequent in this modern society. CPR training classes also provide information on how to correctly perform this action on adults and children and information on how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) properly.
Opens Up Job Opportunities
Knowing how to perform CPR and having a valid certificate opens up many job opportunities where first aid skills are a requirement. Jobs that require CPR knowledge include law enforcement workers, social workers, physical therapists, flight attendants, lifeguards, firefighters, medical professionals, fitness trainers and instructors, and childcare workers, among others.
Every day more and more businesses request their employees to know or go through basic first aid and CPR training to prevent death in an emergency situation that can happen at any time. If you already have CPR training and are certified, make sure to put it on your CV first.
How To Perform CPR
In order for the person to receive the right care, CPR needs to be performed in the right way. There is a difference in the steps if CPR is performed on adults, children, or infants. Here are the basic steps you will need to follow:
- Before taking any action, it is important to ensure that the victim is in a safe environment, after which you need to call 911 immediately.
- Check if the person is responsive and see if the breathing is normal.
- Position the victim on its back on a flat, firm surface.
- Place two hands on the center of the chest, keep your elbows straight and shoulders above your hands, and push using your entire body weight at least two inches deep, 30 times. Before each compression allows the chest to return to its normal position.
- Open the airway by tilting the head and lifting the chin. Pinch the nostrils and position your mouth above the victim’s to give rescue breaths. Give two rescue breaths, but make sure that the chest rises.
- Continue to give chest compressions and rescue breaths until the medical professionals arrive or there are any signs of improvement or the AED is ready for use.
For children who are up to 8 years old, only one hand can be placed on the chest, while for infants, you should use both thumbs and push hard around 1.5 inches deep. It’s important to give the victim proper CPR until the EMTs arrive at the scene to take over.
Conclusion
Learning how to perform this life-saving technique is, without a doubt, a very useful life skill that is very needed, if not for yourself but for the sake of someone else’s life. Time after time, it is proven how much small efforts make a change. It is very clear that knowing how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation comes with many benefits, but the most important thing to remember is knowing when and how to act.
Taking a CPR certification class is convenient for learning this life skill and obtaining other needed information that helps us better understand and control our actions during an emergency. The benefits of learning CPR are plenty, but the most rewarding one has to be having the skills to save someone’s life, should it ever come to that.