Every year, more than 350,000 Americans go into cardiac arrest outside of a medical facility, with 70 percent of those being inside homes (their own or someone else’s). About 90 percent of those people will die before reaching the emergency room—and that’s despite the fact that effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can double or even triple the chance of survival. Why is that?
CPR saves lives, but only if people know how to do it.
Fewer than 20 percent of Americans have learned to perform CPR and maintained their ability to do so. In a public area, the chances might be pretty good that someone in the vicinity knows CPR, but what about in a home? What about in your home? We know that a victim’s chances of surviving cardiac arrest drop by 7 percent every minute that goes by without someone stepping up to perform CPR. Do the math, and it doesn’t take many minutes for those chances to drop to zero.
Could you save a life?
Absolutely. The research is crystal clear: When more people know how to do CPR correctly, more lives are saved. Find a CPR class near you. Our instructors are certified to teach lifesaving CPR and choking rescue methods on infants and children based on American Heart Association guidelines.
What if I’m not trained in CPR?
If you’re with an adult who goes into cardiac arrest, and there’s no one around who’s trained to perform CPR, you can still help. It takes only four to six minutes for brain death to occur, so doing nothing is not an option. First, call 911 yourself or instruct another bystander to do so. Then, prepare to start chest compressions (known as hands-only CPR).
