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# Why Should You Learn CPR?

CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest. In one year alone, 475,000 Americans die from a cardiac arrest. Globally, cardiac arrest claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, auto accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined.

More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year. In 2015, any-mention sudden cardiac arrest mortality in the US was 366,807. CPR, especially if administered immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. About 90 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die. According to 2014 data, nearly 45 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims survived when bystander CPR was administered.

Click here to sign up for our free community CPR course!

# The Chain Of Survival

CPR is a critical step in the AHA’s Chain of Survival. The term Chain of Survival provides a useful metaphor for the elements of the ECC systems concept. The 5 links in the adult out-of-hospital Chain of Survival are:

A strong Chain of Survival can improve chances of survival and recovery for victims of cardiac arrest.

# Automated External Defibrillators

AEDs can greatly increase a cardiac arrest victim's chances of survival. Here's a two-page guide on how to implement an AED program at a company or organization. To minimize the time to defibrillation for cardiac arrest victims, deployment of AEDs should not be limited to only trained people (although training is still recommended).

Learn more about how the use of AEDs can dramatically boost survival of cardiac arrest patients.

# How CPR Is Performed

For healthcare providers and those trained: conventional CPR using chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing at a ratio of 30:2 compressions-to-breaths. In adult victims of cardiac arrest, it is reasonable for rescuers to perform chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120/min and to a depth of at least 2 inches (5 cm) for an average adult, while avoiding excessive chest compression depths (greater than 2.4 inches [6 cm]).

For the general public or bystanders who witness an adult suddenly collapse: compression-only CPR, or Hands-Only CPR. Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by people who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an out-of-hospital setting (such as at home, at work, or in a park).

Hands-Only CPR consists of two easy steps:

1. Call 9-1-1 (or send someone to do that)

2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest

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