One of the leading contributors to death in the United States is a cardiac arrest. However, did you know that one of the factors that can lead to greatly increasing the chance of survival in a person who is suffering from a heart attack is performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on them? It's true. However, the vast majority of people who suffer from a heart attack outside of a hospital do not have CPR performed on them. This is just one of many examples of why CPR training is so integral to your everyday life, not just for health professionals and hospital staff members. This brief article will serve to give you 4 reasons why you should receive CPR training.

Simply Put: CPR Can Save a Life

Over 300,000 people suffer from cardiac arrests each year in the United States alone. During cardiac arrest, the heart is no longer able to sufficiently pump blood to the rest of the body due to a failure in the electrical rhythms of the body. This will cause the individual to collapse and eventually stop breathing. The longer the person is collapsed, the smaller his or her chance of survival becomes. CPR serves to resuscitate that individual. By performing CPR on the individual, you are helping to double, or even triple, that person's chance of survival. You will be able to help blood circulate throughout the body, enough until an EMT can arrive with more tools to help the individual.

CPR Is Not Common Enough

CPR is simply not common enough. Did you know that less than 30% all individuals who suffer from cardiac arrest that are not present in a hospital have CPR performed upon them? When questioned about why bystanders do not perform CPR, they commonly state that they are afraid of doing further harm to the individual rather than attempting to help save their life. This is due to the fact that the individuals in question were not properly trained in CPR. Once a person is properly trained in CPR, these concerns greatly diminish.

Most Cardiac Arrests Occur In The Home

Almost all of cardiac arrests that occur—85%, in fact—occur in the home itself. This means that you could be serving to save a family member's life so long as you are properly trained in CPR. There are many tales of a family member going into a cardiac arrest at home, only to be saved by a vigilant family member who has been properly trained and certified in CPR. The American Heart Association has even pushed for CPR training to be taught in American public schools, in order to train children in CPR in case one of their family members or peers will need it.

Hands-Only CPR Is Easy To Learn

One does not need to learn mouth to mouth resuscitation in order to learn CPR. There is a form of CPR in which you need only use your hands. By placing the heel of your hand on the victim's chest, then placing your other hand over that hand, interlocking your fingers and pressing down approximately two inches down on the victim's chest, and then repeating this process until paramedics arrive, you may serve to save that individual's life. The goal is to feel comfortable with your technique and stay calm and collected while you are performing it.

Now, more than ever, it is imperative to receive CPR training. Not only can you save the life of individuals suffering from cardiac arrest, but also a veritable laundry list of other maladies. Now that you've been informed on the importance of CPR, see if your city offers a first aid and CPR training course.