October is…Sudden Cardiac Arrest Month

Sudden Cardiac Arrest can happen anywhere and at anytime – It does not play favorites to age or gender. Without your help, a victim has less than 10 minutes to survive! Would you know what to do if someone suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing and stopped responding?

Let’s review the life-saving steps of what to do if someone suddenly collapses:

• Tap and Shout (on the victim’s shoulders)
• Call 9-1-1 (or have someone else call)
• Tell Someone to get the AED
• Check for Breathing (is the chest rising and falling?)
• If no response and no chest rise, immediately start CPR (compressions first)
• Push Hard and Fast on the Center of the Chest (think of the beat of “Staying Alive”)
• If you choose to do the breathing, compress 30 times on the chest, then deliver 2 breaths if you are trained
• If you are not delivering breaths, perform Hands-Only CPR
• Switch with another rescuer every 2 minutes
• Attach the AED onto the victim’s chest as soon as it arrives
• Follow the prompts of the AED
• Continue performing CPR compressions and following the AED prompts
• Do not stop until EMS arrives