Intermountain Health: Everyone you know – should know CPR
February is American Heart Month, which brings a renewed focus on the need for people to know Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

Each year, 436,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest and more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital each year. Yet, 70 percent of Americans have no CPR training, have forgotten how to use it, or they are afraid of hurting the victim.

“Bystander CPR has proven to improve survival,” said Kara Hansen, community health educator for Intermountain Health at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden. “That is why Intermountain Health offers CPR training courses and encourages people to become CPR certified.”

CPR and basic first aid are invaluable skills which allows you to help injured people and provide medical services until emergency medical services arrive – it can save a life, adds Hansen.

Here are eight reasons why everyone should know CPR:

1. Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. In fact, 85 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home. Knowing CPR can help you respond quickly and effectively, because every minute counts in an emergency.

2. CPR can double, or even triple, a person’s chance of survival after cardiac arrest. Every minute that passes without CPR decreases the chance of survival by 10 percent. When a person suffers a sudden cardiac arrest and receives early CPR, they have a higher survival and recovery rate. CPR can help restore breathing and blood flow, aiding in the person’s recovery and with minimal side effects.

3. CPR is easy to learn and can be taught in just a few hours. With training, anyone can perform CPR and potentially save a life.

4. CPR can be performed on adults, children, and infants. Knowing how to perform CPR on different age groups can increase the chances of survival.

5. CPR can help prevent brain damage by keeping oxygen flowing to the brain during cardiac arrest. Using rapid chest compressions mimics the heart beating to encourage blood flow. Nonfatal cardiac events can cause severe brain damage that may result in long-term disabilities such as memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic functioning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

6. CPR can buy time until emergency medical services arrive. In many cases, EMS response times can be longer than the critical window for survival.

7. CPR can be performed by anyone, regardless of their profession or background. It’s a valuable skill for parents, teachers, coaches, and anyone who works with the public.

8. Learning CPR can give you the confidence to act in an emergency. Knowing that you have the skills to potentially save a life can be empowering and reassuring.

“Even if you have been CPR trained before, guidelines and directions can shift based on the release of new data, science and technology. Staying current on the latest guidelines can help save a life. Intermountain Health encourages everyone to learn CPR and become prepared to act in an emergency,” said Hansen.

Intermountain Health offers two types of CPR classes:

1. The HeartSaver CPR class is geared toward anyone in the community who wants to learn CPR for their own personal knowledge or if someone needs the certification for their job (daycare workers, fitness instructors, lay rescuers, etc.)

There are three different types of Heartsaver classes the general public can take.

2. The second type of CPR class offered is the Basic Life Support (BLS), which is geared toward anyone who works in the healthcare field (nurses, doctors, dentists, etc), and is more advanced than the Heartsaver CPR.