People are needlessly dying because community members don’t know CPR. Why are community members avoiding this life-saving technique when affordable online CPR classes are available?
Some say they’re too busy, but online CPR classes allow you to control your learning pace. Others lack the confidence to perform these techniques, but it’s difficult to understand why people aren’t caring more for their community with so many available learning resources.
This article examines the ways CPR fosters a sense of community and responsibility. Sudden cardiac arrest can occur to anyone at any time. If it happens to you or a loved one, what would you want bystanders to do?
CPR Saves Lives
Medical emergencies cause immense stress for everyone involved. If the person suffering cardiac arrest is a stranger, it can be tempting to shy away from your responsibility to help.
But as part of a society, it’s your responsibility to take care of your fellow citizen. Learning CPR shows that you care about your neighbor. Becoming CPR-certified ensures you learn life-saving skills so you can help victims until first responders arrive and take over.
CPR Is Not Performed Enough
A Cleveland Clinic study found that only half of Americans would be comfortable performing CPR in a medical emergency. Of the 50% of Americans who feel comfortable performing CPR, only 11% knew the correct chest compression depth for adults in cardiac arrest.
Another recent study shows that cardiac arrests strike around 600,000 Americans per year and 395,000 cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital. Of that 395,000 people, only 6% survive.
CPR can triple cardiac arrest victims’ survival, yet only 50% of sudden cardiac arrest victims receive CPR. Regardless of how you do the math, these figures show a staggering number of lives needlessly lost because people are either too afraid or merely ill-equipped to take action in medical emergencies.
Becoming CPR-certified ensures that you have the confidence and ability to triple someone’s chances of survival. What’s your excuse?
CPR Is Empowering
Have you ever felt hopeless while thinking about your loved ones in danger, like you wouldn’t be able to do anything if they needed your help?
Strangers aren’t the only ones who benefit from community members getting CPR certified. Sure, you can get CPR certified to help your loved ones, but what if they suffer a cardiac arrest while they’re at work or on the road?
Wouldn’t you want someone to take charge and administer CPR? Your CPR certification not only gives you the knowledge to take action in medical emergencies. It also prompts other community members to follow your lead.
Part of the issue with community members getting CPR certified is that it hasn’t become normalized. People tend to put off threats they don’t perceive as imminent. You don’t see cardiac arrest occur every day. Why would you take preventative measures for it?
You don’t see family members dying from cancer every day, either, but 26,000 people die from cancer every day. If you had an opportunity to triple a loved one’s chances of survival against cancer, wouldn’t you take action?
CPR Works Better In Numbers
The more people who have CPR skills, the more effective the civilian emergency response system becomes. In a cardiac arrest emergency, every second is crucial. If you only have one CPR -certified individual, you only have half the coordinated response team.
Knowing how to respond to these emergencies means you can react to the crisis with more assuredness. When you have more CPR-certified manpower, no one wastes valuable time directing others where to go and what to do. You work as a team to save lives.
CPR Is a Work Skill
Many occupations require CPR-certified employees. They do this because it shows solidarity and a commitment to their employees’ health. CPR-certified teams demonstrate your local businesses’ commitment to community members’ health.
What Is Bystander CPR?
If you’re not CPR-certified, you should still have a basic understanding of how to perform life-saving techniques when you see someone in cardiac arrest. Bystander CPR is a viable substitute if you find yourself in a cardiac arrest situation. Bystander CPR consists only of chest compressions instead of typical CPR, which incorporates rescue breaths.
When a person suffers a cardiac arrest, they still have oxygen left in their body. Because they still have oxygen in their bodies, performing rescue breaths isn’t as critical as circulating the oxygen in their bodies.
People can suffer brain damage and death within minutes of suffering cardiac arrest, so it’s essential to start chest compressions immediately after calling 911.
Conclusion- Why Is CPR Certification Important For Your Community?
CPR certification is an ethical responsibility for everyone in a functioning society. If you can look at your loved one and hope that someone helps them if they slip into sudden cardiac arrest, you should understand your obligation to help others.
Community members help each other in times of dire need. Getting First-Aid/CPR training is part of that continued responsibility.
