This November, be the somebody who saves a life
If you witnessed a family memberwho has stopped breathing and is unresponsive, would you know what to do?
Fewer than half of Canadians say they have the skills to help in this common and life-threatening emergency.
November is CPR Month and the Canadian Red Cross challenges everyone to get the training they need to help save a life. Effective bystander CPR, when used in conjunction with an AED and administered immediately following cardiac arrest, can double a person’s chance of survival.
- About 1 in 12 (or 2.6 million) Canadian adults age 20+ live with diagnosed heart disease.
- An estimated 40,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of a hospital setting in Canada each year and 80 and 85 per cent of these cases happen in the home.
- Canadians who have taken a first aid course are considerably more confident in their skills to be able to help someone experiencing a medical emergency.
Red Cross CPR courses also include training on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs): how to assess a person in cardiac arrest, determine whether defibrillation (a shock to the heart to restore normal beating) should be performed, and use an AED unit to deliver a shock if required. The Red Cross is the only national training agency to include AED training as a mandatory component in all our programs.
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