Bystander CPR is emergency CPR administered by someone that close to the situation physically but not a part of an official response team dispatched from emergency services. Considering the high number of occurrences, cardiac arrest is likely to happen in a busy public place – as a result, the actions of bystanders are crucial in an emergency situation.
When a cardiac arrest does occur, the survival rate is approximately only 12% when it occurs outside a hospital environment. About 40,000 cardiac arrests take place in Canada every year.
However, survival rates can increase by 75% when defibrillation and CPR are administered by a bystander, playing a major role in the chain of survival. However, the survival rates have failed to rise above the 30% mark because most people don’t know how to provide CPR and therefore simply require waiting for medical personnel.
Even manual CPR (applied using only hands) can increase the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims – as a result, any bystander with sufficient CPR training can help prolong the life of a victim of cardiac arrest. When a bystander is willing and able to get involved by making sure that 911 is called and then starting CPR, the patient has a much better chance of survival. The first 3 minutes are critical in this type of life-threatening situation and it often takes more time for first responders to arrive at the scene.
The studies show that bystanders are an important part of the entire life-saving process when a cardiac arrest occurs – and someday you could be one of those bystanders that helps save someone’s life. Learn more about our our range of CPR courses today at heart2heartcpr.com or contact us today.
