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Why Learn CPR?

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), is a life-saving technique used on a person who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest. CPR combines mouth-to-mouth breathing with chest compressions to maintain blood flow to the heart and brain. CPR is continued until emergency help arrives and a heart defibrillator is available. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), CPR has been in use since 1960 and has been endorsed by by the AHA as a vital life-saving technique since 1963.

  1. The Leading Cause of Death

    • According to the AHA, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death for adults in the United States. While millions of people have been trained to perform CPR, most Americans do not know how to perform the technique. The AHA works to increase the number of people trained in the use of CPR in order to increase the number of sudden cardiac arrest survivors.

    Emergency Preparedness

    • According to the AHA, people trained in CPR can save the lives of people who have sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospitals. The AHA reports that each year 294,851 sudden cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals in the United States and that about 80 percent of all sudden cardiac arrests occur in the victim's home. People may suffer sudden cardiac arrest at work or in public places. The AHA reports that few people who have sudden cardiac arrest outside of the hospital receive CPR -- about 27.4 percent -- and nearly 94 percent of all cardiac arrest victims die before they reach a hospital.

    The Importance of Time for Survival

    • According to the AHA, CPR provided immediately after cardiac arrest can double or triple the chance that a person will survive. For each minute following cardiac arrest that a victim does not receive CPR, the chance of survival is reduced by 7 to 10 percent. Resuscitation efforts are more likely to fail if the victim does not receive CPR and defibrillation in the first few minutes after sudden cardiac arrest. The AHA encourages people to learn CPR because performing CPR adds minutes to the window of time during which a defibrillator is likely to restart the victim's heart.

    Preventing Organ Death

    • The AHA stresses the importance of immediate CPR to prevent brain death. CPR can prevent brain death by maintaining the flow of blood to the victim's heart and brain, but only if it begins within four to six minutes following cardiac arrest. The time it takes for medical personnel to arrive may be too long to prevent brain death or permanent organ damage. Performing CPR until emergency help arrives may determine whether a victim survives or how well a victim recovers.

    Community Service

    • CPR-trained citizens contribute to their communities by being able to help out in emergencies.
      Sudden cardiac arrest does not have to result in death. If more people are trained in CPR, more cardiac arrest victims will survive. Emergency medical personnel have a better chance of saving lives if someone is able to keep the cardiac arrest victim alive until they arrive on the scene.

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