Being that February is heart health month, I thought I would tell you that the American Heart Association is urging more people to be trained in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It seems that not many Americans are trained in the potentially life saving treatment.
It is estimated that only 15 to 30 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander before emergency medical services personnel arrive on the scene. CPR is crucial for a heart attack victim's survival because with every minute without CPR the chances of making it through the episode of cardiac arrest fall by up to 10 percent.
Those statistics motivate me to get re-certified in CPR, how about you? Are you certified in CPR? Have you ever performed CPR in an emergency? If so, share the details in the comments section below.
Decleor
I do.
1i learned it but not recent enough to be comfortable performing it
2I was CPR and first aid certified in high school whenn I used to babysit alot (going to high school in a rich town people pay more for that sort of thing). I haven't been recertified in a few years though. My boyfriends mother is a certified instructor so I'm sure if I wanted to be recertified it wouldn't be much trouble... I'm sure I could stand a refresher course anyway.
3I was first aid certified in HS, maybe CPR too - I don't remember. It's certainly something I should think about doing soon.
4Yes, as a lifeguard I have to be and we do re-cert every summer.
5I did go to a course in high school but I havent' re-taken the test to get a new certificate because mine expired.
6I don't know the current standards though. I took it before, but it's been a while.
7I was certified in HS--but I def. don't remember much--maybe an emergency would help me remember but I wouldn't want to count on it--I should really take another course. The one thing I DO remember from high school is "Annie, Annie--are you OK?! Someone call 911" haha does anyone else remember that!
8My training was so long ago; time to update my knowledge, for sure.
9Anyone who is interested in learning or refreshing their skills can contact their local red cross chapter. There are videos on their website: http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/. And many employers are happy to set up sessions over the course of several lunches or after work.
10Yes, I am certified. I am an ICU nurse and have obviously used it more than once... If you haven't refreshed your CPR in the last few years, you should certainly take another class. Procedure is completely different, we know concentrate more on compressions (much more valuable than rescue breaths. The ratio is now 30:2 rather than 15:2. Also hand positioning has now changed, much less precise. Need more time for those compressions!
11I'm an EMT that clocks about 50 hours/week on an ambulance and have done CPR maybe ten times during my career (a whole 5 years). A cardiac/traumatic/respiratory arrest isn't one of our most common calls. Most times, prehospital CPR is not successful, time is of the essence, but I've managed 3 "code saves". It's very important for the bystander to perform the technique as per textbook, but, really, any effort is better than none.
12Thanks for reminding me that I need to get re-certified!
13I have to be certified for my job. So I have to take the class every year. Its deff good to know although Im not so sure that Id be able to do it if I needed to, at work yes deff but on the street not so sure....
14I got certified in HS and then I got recertified for my job so there would be someone onsite who knows CPR in an emergency.
15I learned it in drivers Ed....I remember, but I think I need a recap.
16Yes, we all get re-certified every year at work.
17i do know CPR. when i was 14 i was certified as a lifeguard and you hve to recertify your CPR every year, so i was definitely knowledgeable. now that i'm not a certified lifeguard anymore - i haven't taken my CPR class - but i still know the skills since it's embedded in my head.
i have had to use CPR a couple times while lifeguarding - not a fun thing to do since it's incredibly nerve wreaking - but at least you know that it works
18CPR from high school? well, that's reliable
i was taught it at school as well, but i answered no, cause i know i wouldn't do it right if somebody actually needed it.
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