I don’t need to know CPR, do I?

When you ask some individuals (some may have had some form of CPR training, others may never have had CPR training) what they would do or how they would react if someone collapsed in front of them and wasn’t breathing, these are some common answers that you might hear:

“I don’t need to get involved because EMS will be here soon to step in.”

“I’m sure there will be someone else around that will step in to help.”

“I’m worried about getting involved because of liability.”

“Performing CPR seems hard and I’m not a trained professional.”

Have you ever thought any of these reasons why you may not step in and start CPR?

Here’s the truth:  Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is scary (there’s no sugar-coating this fact). However, YOU, a bystander, a non-medical professional, can save a SCA victim’s life because learning CPR is easy! Also food for thought, if nothing is done to help a SCA victim prior to EMS arrival, their chance of survival is under 6%!!

So, let’s clear a few things up:

“I don’t need to get involved because EMS will be here soon to step in.” The National EMS response time is around 8 minutes. Every minute that goes by, a SCA victim’s chance of survival goes down about 10%.

“I’m sure there will be someone else around that will step in to help.” I bet that “someone else” is thinking the same exact thing as you.

“I’m worried about getting involved because of liability.” Remember that the Good Samaritan Laws protect you as a bystander when you perform a rescue with good intent. It’s always a good idea to research how the Good Samaritan Laws protect you in your specific state.

“Performing CPR seems hard and I’m not a trained professional.” You don’t need to be a doctor or a nurse to save someone’s life. There are CPR classes for non-medical professionals that teach normal, day-to-day people how to respond to emergencies such as a SCA. It’s easy to learn CPR and there’s even a thing called “Hands-Only CPR”!

Take away message:  Stop procrastinating and thinking that it won’t happen to you or to someone around you. The raw truth is that SCA kills 1 person every 90 seconds in the U.S. That should be your push to go get CPR certified. SCA is unpredictable and you never know who or when it will strike, but knowing the basic steps of CPR and how to use an AED CAN and DOES save lives every single day.

Happy 2020 and let’s save more lives together!

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