Though perhaps we don’t like to think of them all that often, emergencies do happen – sometimes when we least expect it. When these emergencies are of a medical nature, lifesaving steps are likely to be needed if the patient is to make it to the hospital, where they can be more thoroughly treated. Therefore, it is essential for everyone possible to take a CPR training course at least once in their lives, in order to understand the basics of CPR, with or without a CPR certification.
The benefits of CPR are immense, as any CPR training course or first aid training course will easily show. It’s important to know that when someone is not breathing and when their heart is not beating, blood is not flowing throughout their body – and not reaching their brain. Even if they end up surviving, any significant period of time without blood and oxygen to the brain can result in lasting brain damage. Of course, no resuscitation also means that they will not have as high of a likelihood of surviving such a health crisis in the first place.
The use of CPR can help to keep that blood flow intact, artificially pumping the heart so that blood continues to travel throughout the body, including to the brain, until the heart can be defibrillated. It also has even been found to the make the duration of electric shock increase when defibrillation is able to be applied, making the likelihood of the defibrillation process much more likely to be successful.
The use of defibrillators is also key to saving a patient, and AED devices and CPR tend to go hand in hand for patients who have stopped breathing. The data that has been gathered on the subject more eta backs up this claim, showing that those who had been defibrillated with an AED device had a brain recovery rate of up to 93%, meaning that the vast majority of people were able to retain full – or nearly full – brain function after surviving. Without the use of defibrillators, this percentage drops to a stark 9%.
But acting quickly is hugely important, both in the case of CPR and for the use of defibrillators as well, not just in terms of saving the patient’s life, but for saving their brain capacity and preventing significant and sometimes severe neurological damage as well. Once a victim collapses and is not breathing, CPR must be started immediately. Otherwise, the chance of survival (and full neurological function, at that) will drop by as much as 7% for each minute that they do not receive treatment.
Fortunately, taking a CPR training course can help to fully prepare you for such a seen. A CPR training course will not only teach you the fundamentals of CPR, but a CPR training course will also help to teach you how to react quickly and promptly, while action can still be taken and a life can still be saved. For many people, a CPR training course has been hugely impactful in their lives, as someone who has taken such a CPR training course saved them in a period of medical distress.
The average CPR training course – and subsequent CPR certification following it – has even become essential for many professions. People who work with children, for example, oftentimes are required to take a CPR training course and become CPR certified. The same is also true for people working in various medical facilities and in such positions that can be found there. Knowing how to use an AED can also save lives, especially when the AED is on site.
After all, timing is key for the use of an AED as well, and the faster that a person can be defibrillated the better the chances are for their overall survival. At the end of the day, these are skills that you might never use. Many people who have taken a CPR training course never need to apply the knowledge. But having those skills if necessary has saved many a life here in the United States and far beyond.
