A Guide to the Chain of Survival: Part 1
This is how to save a life.
Imagine a room with a hundred people in it: a packed pub, maybe, full of people you know and care about.
One by one, without warning, your friends and family members begin falling to the floor. Eventually, only six or seven are left standing.
That’s the truth about cardiac arrest. Without immediate help, fewer than one in ten people will survive.
It can happen to anyone, anywhere.
And the moment it does, the clock starts ticking. The heart no longer pumps blood to the brain and the body, starving them of oxygen.
But with the help of someone like you, many more patients could survive. Imagine thirty of those people you care about standing back up and dusting themselves down, alive and ready for their second chance.
It’s ordinary people like us, not doctors, who are most likely to be there when the worst happens. At work, in the park, at home, even in the pub.
A person’s chance of recovery depends on what happens next – starting with you.
This is the Chain of Survival. And the first link in the chain is both the easiest and the most important.
It’s simply recognizing that someone has had a cardiac arrest – and calling for help.
