Unlike popular belief, learning how to perform CPR is not an attempt to restart the heart, but rather a lifesaving procedure that facilitates the flow of blood to the heart and brain, thereby slowing down tissue death and increasing the chances of a successful revival (resuscitation) devoid of permanent brain damage.
How CPR Works
Essentially, when an individual breathes, the air travels to the lungs where the blood picks up oxygen and then the heart pumps it to various parts of the body. When an individual experiences a cardiac arrest or heart attack, the heart stops beating properly. This affects the flow of blood (oxygen) to tissues and organs, rapidly killing tissues and cells.
• Cardio – heart
• Pulmonary – Lungs
• Resuscitation – revitalize/revive
Although CPR may not save the life of the patient even when performed properly; if started within 4 minutes after a cardiac arrest and defibrillation (giving an electric shock to the heart) within 10 minutes, the patient has a 40 per cent chance of survival.
CPR Training and Certification
During training, students are taken through the steps on how to perform CPR properly. In fact, you can enroll for online CPR training, which is a stress free and convenient way of learning how to performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation properly. The online course comes with instructional videos, text and image demonstration meant to help the learner perform the procedure confidently and properly even in an emergency situation.
Difference between Adult and Child CPR
Fundamentally, adult CPR is administered on individual over eight years of age whereas child CPR is performed on victims between the ages of 1 to 8. The first thing you need to know about child CPR is that it is rarely as a result of heart failure, but rather due to an injury that may affect the victim’s breathing. Considering that children are more pliant as compared to adults, their response to CPR is far much better especially if performed as quickly as possible.
Infant CPR is performed on a victim who is under 12 months of age, and just like child CPR, the chances of survival depend largely on how fast the CPR is administered. When an individual completes the CPR training, he or she is awarded with an Adult CPR Certification, Infant Certification and Child CPR Certification.
It is important to note that in 2005, the American Heart Association CPR Guidelines were changed to make it easy for bystanders to step in and perform CPR. In fact, the curriculum was overhauled to include easy training materials like DVDs. Although many people know how to perform CPR, many people are still afraid of contracting communicable diseases while doing mouth to mouth resuscitation. However, research shows that it is quite difficult for someone to contract a disease while resuscitating. For safety purposes, people who administer CPR quite often are advised to carry a barrier device. Finally, learning how to perform CPR as a bystander is important because it is one of the most critical steps in the “Chain of Survival.”
