One of the most common emergencies today is cardiac arrest. It is the kind of medical emergency that the matter of “when” is never answered. Therefore, it is important that everyone is prepared and trained so that when it does happen, you can help. This is the reason why CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an important skill that you should acquire.
Without oxygen, the brain stops functioning within minutes. But with adequate CPR, even without the heart pumping, it can still send enough oxygen so that cells continue to function. However, there is a golden period wherein you can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. During this golden period, you should bring the patient to the nearest hospital otherwise your effort in saving the life of that patient may be reduced to nil.
The brain is the body’s processor and it is most sensitive to fluctuations to oxygen levels. Therefore, when the heart stops pumping oxygen to it, the entire body shuts down. If you continue the blood flow through cardiopulmonary resuscitation within five, six or probably ten minutes until 911 gets to the scene, you are giving that person a second chance at life without any untoward consequences.
Backed by Research
According to recent research, there is compelling proof that time is essential for brain function after cardiac arrest. You can argue day in and day night about the efficiency of CPR or other medical emergency equipment but the bottom line remains the same. The process of helping another person pump blood to his brain within the golden period is the ultimate key to saving lives.
Increase the Numbers of People Who Know CPR
Even if CPR is not perfect science and still has rooms for improvement, this does not mean that doing it is futile. In fact, doing it is better than witnessing someone die of cardiac arrest without any fight at all. If more people know about how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more people can save lives. You can do the math and it becomes self-explanatory.
Saving Lives Should Start with You
There are two things for you to remember if you want to save someone on cardiac arrest –
Recognize the Symptoms: It takes training and adequate knowledge to be able to do this. When someone goes on cardiac arrest, no words and no external forces can make this person respond to you. The person will not have any pulse and will not breathe in contrast to someone who is having heart attack.
Respond to the Need: When you watch someone going into cardiac arrest, there is no time to waste. You need to call 911 or have someone else do it while you start chest compressions. CPR trainings are available to educate people on how to do proper CPR. You need to keep doing chest compressions until the responders get to the scene.
CPR is important not only for medical personnel but for bystanders like you. Knowing this may just save the lives of people you love.