National Preparedness Month: Hands-only CPR can save a life
According to the CDC, more than 356,000 cardiac arrests happen outside a hospital every year.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A cardiac emergency can happen anywhere. When that time comes -- will you be ready?
As September's National Preparedness Month wraps up, the American Heart Association is encouraging everyone to be ready for a possible health emergency.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 356,000 cardiac arrests happen outside a hospital every year.
"Learning the tools of this just powerful technique can really bring someone back to life and sustain their life," Dr. Robert Ferdman said.
Ferdman is the Chief of Hospital Medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Fresno.
He said hands-only CPR is something everyone - young and old - should know.
"I've seen it time and time again," Dr. Ferdman said. "Patients have come in, and that's what saved their lives -- whether it be a family member, a bystander on the street, or early findings and a paramedic does that early on."
If you find someone unconscious and having difficulty breathing, remember two simple steps:
- Call 911
- Start chest compressions.
"The most classic beat that they even teach today is doing it to 'Stayin' Alive' by the Bee Gees," shared Ferdman. "That's the perfect rhythm to be able to make sure that the heart, you are stimulating the heart to profuse and to get that blood flow, again, to protect those vital organs, the heart and then the brain."
He added that if you're doing it correctly, you may hear the person's sternum crack, but don't let that scare you.
"It isn't the bone just breaking and breaking into pieces, but it is that bone being stressed. Again, that's the best and the most important thing to bring back the life of a person," Ferdman said.
It's also important to perform CPR as soon as possible and until first responders arrive.
Several organizations, such as the American Heart Association and the Red Cross, have videos and classes that teach hands-only CPR.
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