CPR Benefits

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is a lifesaving technique used to pump blood and air through the body when there is no spontaneous respiration and heartbeat. The benefit of CPR is that you may save a life.



CPR classes are required for all heathcare providers, firemen, policemen, first responders, and a variety of other professions. You don't have to belong to one of these professions to take CPR classes. CPR classes are available through the Red Cross, American Heart Association, private certified instructors, and a variety of organizations. You can even take CPR training online.

CPR Statistics

• According to the American Heart Association (AHA), a person who has no heartbeat can survive only 4-6 minutes before brain damage occurs. The faster the response, the more likely this person will live and do so without catastrophic damage. CPR can give this person a fighting chance until professional assistance arrives to restart the heart.

  Each year, approximately 100,000 to 200,000 lives could be saved if CPR is started early enough, according to the AHA. According the Saver Heart Center, every minute CPR is delayed, survival rates drop by 10%.

You Are Ready to Respond

• According to the AHA, more than 300,000 heart attacks occur outside of hospitals each year, and fewer than 8% of those victims survive. More children die from accidents than from any other cause, and this includes choking, drowning, and sudden infant death syndrome.

  The AHA estimates that over 70% of cardiac emergencies happen at home with a family member present. Statistically, you are two to three times more likely to survive a cardiac emergency if someone is there who knows CPR.

  If you learn CPR, you don't have to wonder what to do. Taking a CPR class will teach you what to do and when continuous chest compressions outweigh traditional CPR. You can respond in an emergency, and you may save the life of someone you love.

A New Kind of CPR

• Dr. Gordon Ewy, MD, and Dr. Karl Kern, MD, at the Savers Heart Center have developed a new kind of CPR. This method is known as continuous heart compression and does not include mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. They believe that this method provides better survival rates and that more people are likely to use it than traditional CPR. In continuous heart compression CPR, you compress the chest 100 times per minute.

You Are Protected From Prosecution

• Good Samaritan Laws protect you from prosecution for civil damages when you respond to an emergency. According to US Legal, if you provide assistance voluntarily in an emergency and do so with due diligence and care without expecting a reward, you are covered. Even if you are not CPR certified, you are protected as long as you take reasonable care not to do more damage than good.