Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more commonly referred to as CPR, is a lifesaving technique commonly used in many emergency situations, such as near drowning accidents and heart attack. You’ll more than likely recognize what it looks like, perhaps from learning the basics in 9th grade health class or watching multiple medical procedures.

Unlike what many think, CPR training is not just reserved for medical professionals—anyone can become certified with this practice and be equipped to possibly save a life in the event of an emergency wherever they go. 

Be Prepared for Any Situation

Emergency situations don’t follow a schedule; you never know when someone may start having a heart attack. You could be on vacation, at work or at a little league game when previous CPR training could make all the difference in saving someone’s life. Anyone can administer basic, hands-only CPR, so if you’re trained but someone else has begun providing CPR, you can offer assistance. The more people there are on hand to respond to an emergency situation, the better. If you can administer CPR, someone else can focus on calling 911.

Put Your Family, Friends and Coworkers at Ease

Most cardiac arrests occur outside the home. If your loved ones and coworkers know you’ve been trained in CPR, they’ll have peace of mind if an emergency arises. With the accessibility of Atlanta CPR classes through Executive CPR, training for your workplace should be a must.

In some cases, you may know CPR, but it’s been awhile since you’ve received training—perhaps it’s time to brush up on your CPR knowledge. Re-training every few years will reinforce CPR methods in your mind and make you an even better expert at administering this lifesaving practice.

Shockingly, it is often seemingly healthy people who suffer from cardiac arrest due to extreme situations or accidents. The truth is that the majority of these people will die. More often than not, if you witness a cardiac arrest, this will happen to someone that you know, as four out of five cardiac arrests occur at home. This means that learning how to correctly and effectively administer CPR has a good chance of one day saving one of your loved ones’ lives.

What Is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Cardiac arrest is not necessarily a heart attack. Although a heart attack affects the heart, it is different because the heart keeps beating; cardiac arrest can, however, occur because of a heart attack. This diagnosis encompasses many different kinds of heart failure where the heart stops beating. For example, this could be a cardiomyopathy, electrolyte disturbances, or a blockage in the artery.

All of these cardiac crises occur when the electric impulses that control a heartbeat become chaotic. Often this happens to people who have no previous diagnosis of heart disease or risk factors.

The odds of survival go down 10 percent every minute.Between five and seven minutes after cardiac arrest there is a chance of resuscitation with advanced drugs. (This is the time window that emergency response vehicles target.)After 10 minutes, there is a high risk of permanent brain injury.

CPR Training

The American safety and health institute (ASHI) and the American Heart Association's (AHA) Basic Life Support Course, First Aid Course, First Aid CPR & AED Course, Airway Management Course, ECG Pharmacology Course and the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Course (ACLS) has been updated to reflect new science in the 2015 Guidelines Update for First Aid, CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.