A person's heart and ability to breath regularly can stop during a medical emergency, such as when a person has a heart attack or when he has been under water too long. Performing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on him can prevent his death.
Purpose
CPR combines breathing and chest compressions to circulate a small amount blood and oxygen in victims whose heart has stopped. This buys them some time until medical personnel can manage the emergency.
Learning
Training for this technique takes less than a day and is available from such organizations as the American Red Cross. For better effectiveness, you can learn CPR with First Aid and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) courses.
AED
Often used as part of CPR, the AED is an automated device that puts pads on a victim's chest to shock the heart into a regular rhythm.
History
In 1740, the Paris Academy of Sciences recommended mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims. In 1891, Dr. Friedrich Maass performed the first documented chest compression in humans. In 1960, CPR was developed with the American Heart Association (AHA) organizing efforts to teach the technique to physicians.
Effectiveness
According to the AHA, effective CPR can double a victim's chance of survival. Otherwise, a sudden cardiac arrest victim's survival falls by 7 to 10 percent for every minute before their heart rhythm is restored. See Resources for more statistics.
Tags: person heart