American Heart Association CPR

The American Heart Association is a voluntary national non profit organization committed to reducing the numbers of people dying or suffering a disability due to heart disease and/or stroke. It was founded by six cardiologists in 1924. While it has always been in researching cures for heart disease and educating the public about the risks and ways to prevent it happening, it was only in 1963 that the American heart association CPR interest started. Leonard Scherlis set up the first committee and the rest is history. Now the AHA writes the guidelines about CPR and is the leading authority in the USA on this subject.

As you probably know CPR is an emergency procedure used when a person has had a sudden cardiac arrest.  People often confuse a heart attack and a sudden cardiac arrest and while the former may lead to the latter they are not the same medical condition.

The Differences Between A Heart Attack and Sudden Cardiac Arrest

A heart attack occurs when one or more of the arteries that deliver blood to the heart become blocked. This can be caused by a number of factors including smoking and a build up of fatty acids. The heart is a muscle and needs oxygen to survive. If the blood cannot get to the heart, it will lose oxygen and suffer damage. Not all heart attacks are fatal as the heart muscle, like any other muscle in your body, can sustain a certain amount of damage before it stops working completely. Every heart attack does lessen the effectiveness of the heart though.

A potential and very serious consequence of a heart attack is the fact it can cause a malfunction in the hearts electrical system i.e. the pump mechanism. This can lead to a dangerous condition where the rhythm of the heart beat becomes dangerously fast. This is where the risk of sudden cardiac arrest soars.

Not all sudden cardiac arrests are caused by a heart attack. You may have no prior warning that something is wrong. When someone has a cardiac arrest, something major has gone wrong with the electrical impulses in the heart. Most are caused by a condition known as ventricular fibrillation. This is where the heart develops a sudden rapid and irregular rhythm which makes the ventricles quiver rather than contract. This prevents the pump mechanism working thus leading to oxygen deprivation in your brain and the rest of your organs.

The person who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest will collapse and stop breathing within seconds. Unless CPR and more importantly an automatic external defibrillation are used within three to four minutes, the person will die. Time is of the essence in this situation – this is not the time to question whether or not you should have attended some American Heart Association CPR training!

 CPR is an acronym used to describe an emergency procedure used when someone has had a cardiac arrest.  The victim will have lost consciousness and stopped breathing. It is imperative that either an AED device or hands only CPR is started ASAP.  For every minute you delay the victim’s chances of survival fall by about 10%. 

C - Stands for Cardio or heart - the aim being to get the heart pumping again or at least receptive to an automated external defibrillator

P- Pulmonary - the oxygen travels around your body via your circulation system

R - Resuscitation means the act of reviving someone - in some cases the victim is technically dead and if you administer CPR you can bring them back to life.

It doesn't take long to complete the American Heart Association CPR class and you will learn the skills needed to potentially save someone. You may even save a member of your family.  Is there a history of stroke or heart disease in your family? Medical science is advancing all the time and there are many ways to treat heart disease before it makes itself known by causing a cardiac arrest.  Genetic research has advanced considerably and if you are at risk of heart disease, your doctor should now be able to tell you.  While not all sudden cardiac arrests are caused by underlying medical problems i.e. they could be caused by an accident or perhaps drowning, if you know you may be at a higher risk you can take more precautions. You may even want to invest in a home AED and make sure your family members know how to use it.

The American Heart Association, being a non profit organization, depends a lot of fund raising to finance its activities. There are regular events that take place throughout the year. Numerous celebrities from the TV and pop world help the AHA to raise cash. It isn't just recently that the AHA has been using radio and TV networks to help publicize its message. It's radio show “The Walking Man" was launched in the late 1940's as a fund raising exercise. Since then the American Heart Association has used these mediums to bring its message to the people. It realizes the need for education. With instances of heart disease rising in the US and the resulting cost both financial and emotional, it doesn't appear as if people are listening.

Get Your CPR Certifcation Now

We need more people to take CPR certification seriously as then we may be able to do something about the appalling statistics that say less than 10% of cardiac arrest victims get help from bystanders. More than 80% will die. Can we change these figures? Yes with education and the provision of more automated external defibrillators with people trained to use them.