Receiving CPR from a Trained Responder is More Likely Than Being Struck by Lightning ... but Not Much!

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Business Wire EON) May 1, 2008 -- Emergency University, Inc., the world’s leading provider of online and blended CPR, AED and First Aid training services, is pleased to announce FREE Hands-Only CPR training to the public to encourage more bystander CPR and save more lives. This initiative is provided in support of the recent American Heart Association (AHA) Science Advisory recommending Hands-Only or Compression-Only CPR. “When an adult suddenly collapses, trained or untrained bystanders should – at a minimum – activate their community emergency medical response system (e.g., call 911) and provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest, minimizing interruptions.”

Although Hands-Only CPR is beneficial for adults who are seen unexpectedly collapsing from a cardiac arrest, it is not the first choice for children or infants. Children and infants who collapse are more often suffering from a respiratory arrest and need rescue breathing in addition to compressions.

Emergency University’s multi-media, self-paced Hands-Only CPR training program is a brief, entertaining and convenient way for individuals and communities to learn how to provide the basics of resuscitation. Emergency University’s Hands-Only CPR training program incorporates clinical animations, photographs, text and audio to maximize the learning potential of all learners, thereby promoting competence and confidence in activating the emergency medical response system and performing chest compressions.

“This is an incredible opportunity to promote more Bystander CPR and save lives,” says Dr. Odelia Braun, President of Emergency University. “Bystander CPR refers to CPR performed by individuals who, by chance, witness an adult collapse. The collapsed adult needs CPR until a defibrillator can be brought to the scene. 911 responders will bring the defibrillator. The American Heart Association Science Advisory recommending Hands-Only CPR is based on the belief that further simplification of CPR would encourage more citizens to act in an emergency. This is a laudable goal. The CPR certification card has stood too long between the victim of cardiac arrest and his potential rescuer.”

There are approximately 300 million people in the United States. There are approximately 325,000 cardiac arrests per year or about 900 cardiac arrests per day. Therefore, approximately 0.1% (.001) of the US population will have a cardiac arrest each year. Approximately 17 million people receive CPR training each year, or approximately 5% of the population.

Therefore the likelihood that an individual suffering a cardiac arrest will be in the vicinity of someone trained to perform CPR is statistically improbable. At the current rate of trained rescuers, 1 out of every 20,000 cardiac arrests will be witnessed by a trained rescuer. Not as unlikely as being struck by lightning or winning the lottery, but unlikely nonetheless.

“This does not mean that CPR training is no longer necessary or that conventional CPR is not as effective as Hands-Only CPR. Quite the contrary,” says Dr. Braun. “It means that the scientists and medical professionals who represent the American Heart Association are so convinced that CPR is a life saving skill, that they wish to encourage any performance of CPR, or partial performance of CPR, over no action at all. It means that the science supporting CPR is so clear that CPR is beneficial to an adult cardiac arrest victim, that initiating only the basics of resuscitation by providing chest compressions is still beneficial.”

Dr. Braun clarifies, “Although Hands-Only CPR is beneficial for adults who are seen unexpectedly collapsing from a cardiac arrest, it is not the first choice for children or infants. Children and infants who collapse are more often suffering from a respiratory arrest and need rescue breathing in addition to compressions.”

About Emergency University

Emergency University is the world’s leading provider of online and blended emergency training for healthcare professionals and the corporate health and safety community since 1999. In the government sector, Emergency University is the exclusive online and blended training provider for the federal Public Access Defibrillation program administered by Federal Occupational Health, while serving Fortune 500 giants Procter and Gamble, CSX Corporation and Levi-Strauss in the corporate community. Emergency University’s training programs meet the international guidelines established by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) and the American Heart Association (AHA) and are offered in multiple languages to support the global corporate community.

For more information on Emergency University, email us at info@emergencyuniversity.com, call 1-866-AED-HELP or visit www.EmergencyUniversity.com

For more information on Hands-Only CPR and to access Emergency University’s free Hands-Only CPR training program, click here. (http://emergencyuniversity.com/handsonlycpr.asp?key=hopress)

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