Heart Health Heart Health Basics

CPR Saves Lives

Summary & Participants

The American Heart Association says about 900 people die each day from cardiac arrest. Most arrests that don’t happen in a hospital happen in the home. Learning CPR means you could save a life – and the life you save may be a loved one.

Medically Reviewed On: August 04, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: These people are learning how to save a life. And the life they save may end up being a loved one.

DAVID FRYER, CPR CLASS PARTICIPANT: Once I had my second baby, I realized I knew nothing about how to help him, so I figure I might as well jump on it and learn something.

ANNOUNCER: The American Heart Association says about 900 people die each day from cardiac arrest. That’s when the heart suddenly stops or goes into useless spasms.

SCOTT CARUTHERS, CPR INSTRUCTOR : Cardiac arrest is sudden and instantaneous death. There is no discussion. There is no breathing. There is no motion. There is no complaining about chest pain or profuse sweating or dizziness.

ANNOUNCER: Most arrests that don’t happen in a hospital, happen in the home.

SCOTT CARUTHERS, CPR INSTRUCTOR : Either someone is prepared to react properly, or they’re not. And if they can react properly, they greatly increase the chances of that person living another day

ANNOUNCER: CPR - or cardio pulmonary resucitation – involves breathing for a person and compressing the chest to keep oxygen-rich blood flowing to the heart, lungs and brain until professional help arrives.

SCOTT CARUTHERS, CPR INSTRUCTOR : As we are very well aware, response time is the critical factor. 12 to 18 minutes is the national response time average. Brain death occurs in four.

ANNOUNCER: Even if you are trained in CPR, you may want to take a refresher course. The American Heart Association recently simplified the procedure, making it easier to learn and remember.

SCOTT CARUTHERS, CPR INSTRUCTOR : The real primary change, I’d say, would be the change of compression-to-breath ratio, previously 15 to 2 for adults and 5 to 1 for pediatric victims. Now, it is a blanket statement of 30 to 2 for every victim.

DAVID FRYER, CPR CLASS PARTICIPANT: I thought there would be a little more to it. But now that I know saving somebody can be that easy, maybe I’d be, you know, a little more apt to jump in and try and help somebody.

ANNOUNCER: If he does, he could double a victim’s chance of surviving. Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily.