Pulse3 Foundation to Host “Sidewalk CPR” Events
Guest Blogger
| 3 min read
If someone asked you what the most important moment of your life has been, do you know what you’d say?
A wedding? A birth? For those who have survived cardiac arrest, the answer almost always is, “The moment my life was saved.”
Sixty seconds. That’s the most anyone should wait before cardiopulmonary resuscitation – or CPR – is started. When CPR begins within one minute of an arrest, and an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available, the victim’s chances of surviving can double or even triple.
In 2008, the American Heart Association (AHA) released a statement about Hands-Only™ CPR, saying that bystanders who witness the sudden collapse of an adult or teen should dial 911 and provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the middle of the victim’s chest.
The AHA confirmed this stance for bystander care in the 2010 Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC). Hands-only, or compression-only CPR, is easier for an untrained rescuer to perform and survival rates from cardiac arrests of cardiac etiology are similar with either Hands-Only CPR or CPR with both compressions and rescue breaths.
With this scientific backing, many organizations throughout the state, including the Pulse3 Foundation, have been moving toward “sidewalk CPR” events, where large numbers of people can quickly learn the incredibly simple, but effective, act of giving quality chest compressions when CPR is required. Pulse3 trains about 2,000 people for free each year in this manner. Most recently, we partnered with the Saginaw Valley State University College of Health and Human Services and the Student Nursing Association to provide CPR instruction to football fans attending the home game on October 7.
Last year’s Pulse3 Foundation CPR training event held at Saginaw Valley State University.
Pulse3 is a member of SaveMIHeart, a group of organizations whose mission is to engage Michigan communities to provide quality education and advocate to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest. Upcoming hands-only CPR blitz events offered through members of SaveMIHeart include:
- Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017: University of Michigan home football game from 8 a.m. until kickoff in the FanFest Pioneer High School parking lot.
- Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 (Thanksgiving): We’ll be at the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade.
If you aren’t able to attend one of these CPR events, take a couple of minutes to learn CPR the hands-only way with this video.
About the Author:
Diane Fong is the CEO of the Pulse3 Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving heart health in mid-Michigan. Pulse3 is a member of the Michigan Alliance for the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young. Fong currently serves on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Central Michigan Advisory Council.
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Photo credit (feature image): torbakhopper
