By Sherry Larson

People’s Defender

In step with the February American Heart Association Heart Month, we recognize that learning CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is vital to saving someone’s life in cardiac arrest. CPR.heart.org states, “CPR is an emergency lifesaving procedure when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR can double or triple the chances of survival after cardiac arrest.

My.clevelandclinic.org explains that CPR is used to “restart” someone’s heart and states that it is a “fairly simple technique.” It continued, “The key part of CPR is chest compressions, which keep blood flowing to vital organs until a regular heartbeat returns. Breathes of oxygen bring more oxygen into the person with cardiac arrest. The website suggests that a person needs CPR if they: ” Collapse, don’t respond, aren’t breathing, or don’t have a pulse.”

Linda Carroll’s January 10 today.com article, “How to Perform CPR”, notes that only a tiny percentage of people know how to perform CPR correctly. Dr. Ali Nsair, medical director of heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support device services at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, told today.com, “The American Heart Association has done a lot of campaigns to raise awareness about CPR. It’s something we just have to keep pushing in schools, workplaces, and everywhere we can.”

If you still need to take a course in CPR, contact the Adams County Health Department at (937) 544-5547 for the availability of classes. The American Red Cross and American Heart Association offer online resources and training courses. Learning this crucial skill just may save a life.