If your loved one collapsed and didn’t have a pulse, would you know what to do? Every year 350,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest where the heart stops pumping blood. About 70% of those people are in their home when this happens. Sadly, only about 10% of them survive. But it doesn’t have to be that way for your loved one.
Starting CPR while the paramedics are on the way can triple the chance your loved one will survive. For every minute that goes by without CPR, the chance of surviving goes down 10%. Bystander CPR buys time until the medics arrive and can administer lifesaving medication and transport the patient to the ER. Unfortunately, bystander CPR does not happen very frequently. Why? Fear of liability, fear of hurting the person, and fear of disease. Let's look at those common concerns.
In every State, including Florida you are protected by Good Samaritan laws from any liability when you render aid to a person in need. So even if you perform CPR poorly or the person doesn’t survive you will not be held responsible. The State wants you to help.
There is a possibility that you may cause minor damage to a person’s chest when doing compressions. But at that moment, the person is dead. And without some intervention like CPR, they will stay dead. You can’t do any more harm than already exists. If they survive and have a sore chest, they will forgive you.
And most importantly, no longer do we have to perform any mouth-to-mouth breathing. Providing oxygen isn’t necessary for at least the first 5 or 6 minutes. That person still has plenty of oxygen in their blood. Performing chest compressions will get that blood, and the oxygen, circulating in their body.
So, find some time to learn CPR. The Nassau County Medical Reserve Corps provides training that is fast, free, and convenient. We will come to you and the class lasts about 1 hour. You will learn that CPR is easy and safe. And the life you save may be someone close to you.