A Guide to the Chain of Survival: Part 2
The moment someone has a cardiac arrest, the clock starts ticking.
Every minute that passes without help increases a person’s chance of dying by ten per cent or more.
But you can do something, and the only equipment needed is your hands. You’ve seen it on TV, on hospital shows or disaster movies. CPR, that crazy pounding on someone’s chest, is simple and anyone can do it. Kids, pensioners, you.
CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Pushing down on the chest allows you to take over the job of the stopped heart: sending blood and oxygen around the person’s body and, especially, to their brain, which needs it most for survival.
You need to use enough force to bruise or even break a rib. You might be worried you’re going to do more harm than good. But if someone has had a cardiac arrest, they are effectively already dead. You cannot make things worse. But you can make things a hell of a lot better.
Remember the chain of survival? The second link in the chain takes courage.
