CPR certification turns everyday Utahns into potential life-savers.
Small Lake City
By Brandi Christoffersen
If you could save someone's life, would you? I'm not talking about sacrificing your life for another, putting your life in danger, or even donating one of your organs. I'm asking, if you saw another human being in distress and had the ability to save them, would you?
Call me a "glass half-full" kind of gal, but my heart of hearts tells me that at least nine out of ten of you would say yes.
And it is with this belief that I am advocating for every adult over the age of 18 to be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation—otherwise known as CPR.
Within the last 12 months, I have been teaching CPR and First Aid through the Red Cross and these classes have made me hyper-aware of how often emergency care is actually required. According to the Red Cross, half of all people that receive CPR within three to five minutes of collapsing, survive.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, high-quality CPR consists of chest compressions combined with artificial ventilation—or mouth to mouth—to manually pump blood through the body. It is performed when the heart suddenly stops beating (cardiac arrest) and the blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs.
And because three out of four cardiac arrests occur at home or at work, with proper training, you could end up saving your coworker, or loved one.
I know what you're thinking: "I don't have time to take classes. I'm too busy with work and the kids and just everyday stuff."
Well, what if I told you that training only takes about four hours and that the Red Cross offers classes numerous times throughout the day, weekdays and weekends?
Additionally, you can choose between a full in-person, instructor-led course or a blended option that is part online and part in-person.
As an added bonus, most classes include how to respond to life threatening bleeding, burns and sudden illnesses. Plus, you will be shown how to perform back blows and abdominal thrusts for choking emergencies. (Children and the elderly are highly susceptible to choking, with an average of 5,000 people dying each year in the United States alone.)
I could continue to validate my belief that all adults should learn CPR by stating the American Heart Association estimates that 100,000 to 200,000 lives could be saved each year if CPR were performed.
Or I could mention that even if someone survives cardiac arrest, by providing CPR you are preventing permanent brain damage and possible brain death.
But I won't do that. I will instead conclude this column by asking one question: Is four hours of your time worth saving someone's life?
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