In A Heartbeat, You Can Learn To Save A Life

On Sunday, May 3rd you can change yourself from helpless to hero by taking 15 minutes out of your day and learning Hands-Only CPR at the Westport Family YMCA. “Hands For Life Westport Weston Wilton 2015” is a free, tri-town community-wide Hands-Only CPR and AED training event will take place at the Westport YMCA from 10am to 4pm. It is open to all ages and no pre-registration is required.

Why Hands-Only CPR

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the largest cause of natural death in the U.S. and is responsible for half of all heart disease deaths. There are approximately 359,400 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the U.S. every year with a mortality rate of 90.5%. This loss of life is equivalent to four Boeing 747 airplanes crashing and killing everyone onboard every single day of the year. Administering hands-only CPR helps maintain blood flow to vital organs until emergency medical personnel arrive, and, therefore, increases the chance of survival.

“When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, it is critical that instead of simply waiting for help to arrive, that you become the help. Intervention in the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest is the only way to increase the victim’s chance of survival,” said Nancy Capelle, Chairperson of Hands For Life Westport Weston Wilton 2015.

Less than 1 in 4 people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting receive CPR from a bystander, and only about 7-10% of cardiac arrest victims survive. In addition, studies show that survival rates fall 10% each minute without CPR. Hands-Only CPR has been shown to double or even triple the victim’s chance of survival.

What we are Teaching

Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths, and is recommended for use by people who see an adult suddenly collapse. Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR (CPR that includes breaths) in the first few minutes of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Conventional CPR may be better than Hands-Only CPR for certain victims, such as infants and children found in cardiac arrest, or victims of drowning or collapse due to breathing problems. Any attempt at CPR is better than no attempt.

How we are Teaching

Our goal is to train 2000 people in 6 hours. We will utilize 3 training “pods”, each set up with the same 3 stations. About 10 people will enter a pod together. At the first station, they will receive an overview on our initiative ad brief, general instructions on CHECK, CALL, COMPRESS; moving to the second station, they will practice compressions under the watchful eyes of our trainers and perform Hands-Only CPR on the manikins; moving to the third station, they receive an AED awareness orientation. Once done, people will exit the pod, fill out an exit survey and receive a take-away card with step-by-step instructions of what they have just learned.

“Hands For Life Westport Weston Wilton 2015” is sponsored by Norwalk Hospital, in collaboration with the Westport Weston Wilton Medical Reserve Corps, Westport, Weston and Wilton EMS, Westport Family YMCA, Connecticut Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and CERT.

More information: Hands for Life Westport Weston Wilton Committee Chair Nancy Capelle at 203-216-1509 or nancy@cardiaccompanion.com and visit www.handsforlife.org

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Submitted by Norwalk, CT

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