The aim of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is to buy time, to provide blood and oxygen to the brain and heart while waiting for the ambulance or EMS to arrive, thus improving the victim’s chances of survival. Doctors know that three steps improve survival: 1. early access to care, 2. early CPR and 3. defibrillation within eight minutes. In fact, performing CPR can give someone a four times greater chance of survival of cardiac arrest.
The earlier you give CPR to a person in cardiopulmonary arrest (no breathing, no heart-beat), the greater the chance of a successful resuscitation.
Research has shown that even people who have been trained in CPR are reluctant to administer it for fear of doing it wrong. It is important to remember that when indicated: good CPR is better than bad CPR, but even bad CPR is a million times better than no CPR at all. And, because up to 85% of all cardiac arrests occur at home, you are most likely to perform CPR on a family member or loved one.
Cardiac Arrest Survival and CPR
• Decades of research have shown that early CPR is a critical factor in cardiac arrest survival rates.
• Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians die from cardiac arrest because they don’t receive medical treatment quickly enough.
• The survival rate from cardiac arrest would be much higher if more people knew how to perform CPR, Canadian researchers say.
• Survival rates decline by about 10% for every minute treatment is delayed.
• Research suggests that doubling the number of citizens trained in CPR, could save more than 1,000 lives in Canada every year.
• Most children who drown are under five years of age, and 50-65% of these deaths occur in baths and spas.
CPR is very effective in the event of a cardiac arrest but it can also be used for victims of drowning, electrocution, suffocation and drug overdose.
Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
Now, you don’t have to be a doctor to save a life. New automated external defibrillators make it possible for even non-medical personnel to restore heart rhythm and life.
An Automated External Defibrillator is a machine that can monitor heart rhythms. It can tell if the heart has stopped beating effectively. If required, the machine can then deliver an electric shock to the heart. Most of the time, this shock will restart the heart. If a person collapses because his or her heart has stopped beating effectively, we have only six to eight minutes at best to reset the heart with an AED.
AEDs Save Lives
More than 35,000 Canadian lives are lost each year due to cardiac arrest. Defibrillation improves survival rates by up to 30% if delivered in the first few minutes. Making defibrillators easily accessible has the potential to save thousands of lives.
Combined with immediate CPR, defibrillation within three minutes can save 49 – 74% of people who have a cardiac arrest – compared to the average Canadian survival rate of 5%.
CPR Training
In CPR and emergency cardiac care, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada plays a leadership role in developing the best science-based training guidelines, and helps put that science into practice through training materials used by all agencies to teach people the best techniques to save a life.
Cardiac arrest survival rates increase when bystanders follow the first three links in the Chain of Survival: phoning 9-1-1, performing CPR right away and providing defibrillation as soon as possible.
Thanks to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation for providing this information. For more information please visit www.heartandstroke.ca
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