Just finished reading a very sad story about a young woman in her 40s that had a heart attack while watching her son’s football game. There were paramedics and athletic trainers on site, they checked a pulse, thought she was having a seizure so did not immediately perform CPR. Sadly, the lady’s heart could never compensate and recover. They pronounced her dead at the local medical center.
The article on Medscape titled ‘One Cardiac Arrest. Four 911 Callers. A tragic Outcome’ highlights how ‘the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital in the United States average about 1 in 10’. One of the reason for this terrible statistic is because around the country, so few people know how to do CPR. In minority communities and lower income communities, the number of those trained to do CPR is abysmally low. I read an article based on a study done by Duke a couple of years ago that stated you are more likely to have a much poorer health outcome if you have a medical emergency in these communities because so few are trained to do CPR.
As a clinician of color, a woman, a mommy, a friend, a wife, a daughter and so much more, I decided to become a CPR instructor so that I can offer this training to individuals, groups, parents, educators, and anyone desiring to learn so that more people would be equipped to respond in an emergency. Now the agencies have made it easier in that no pulse is required to be ascertained prior to performing CPR and they even have a hands only CPR option. AED will prompt you audibly on the rate and timing of CPR and when to shock. More educators are needed and more policy is needed in communities so the survival rate outside of the hospital in an emergency can increase. Funding should be available so that most citizens have access and are encouraged to obtain CPR certification.
I am thankful I have a class in a few days teaching fitness trainers CPR at a local gym. I am grateful I can be used in a small way to help save lives by teaching CPR as requested by individuals and groups at a rate often less than other providers. My business does not make enough money to be profitable but the satisfaction I get from reviews of my services makes it all worth it!
