Learn More about CPR

with Texas Covenant Education's CPR Facts & Statistics

• About 80% of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
   occur in private residential settings, so being
   trained to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation
   (CPR) can mean the difference between life and
   death for a loved one.
• Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately
   after cardiac arrest, can double a victim's chance
   of survival.
• CPR helps maintain vital blood flow to the heart
   and brain and increases the amount of time that
   an electric shock from a defibrillator can be
   effective.
• Approximately 95% of sudden cardiac arrest
   victims die before reaching the hospital.
• Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not
   inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives
   could be saved.
• Brain death starts to occur 4 to 6 minutes after
   someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR
   and defibrillation occurs during that time.
• If bystander CPR is not provided, a sudden
   cardiac arrest victim's chances of survival fall 7%
   to 10% for every minute of delay until
   defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation are
   successful if CPR and defibrillation are not
   provided within minutes of collapse.

Quote, Texas Covenant Education in San Antonio, TX

Quote, Texas Covenant Education in San Antonio, TX

• Coronary heart disease accounts for about 446,000
of the more than 864,000 adults who die each year
as a result of cardiovascular disease.
• There are 294,851 emergency medical services
treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in
the United States.
• There are about 138,000 coronary heart disease
deaths within 1 hour of symptom onset each year
in the United States.
• Sudden cardiac arrest is most often caused by an
abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation
(VF). Cardiac arrest can also occur after the onset
of a heart attack or as a result of electrocution or
near drowning.

• When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the victim
collapses, becomes unresponsive to gentle
shaking, stops normal breathing and after two
rescue breaths, still isn't breathing normally,
coughing, or moving.

Contact Texas Covenant Education at (866) 586-5003
with questions about CPR education and its importance.

CPR Education, CPR Certification, San Antonio, Austin, TX

CPR Statistics

CPR & Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)
Fact Sheet
As of April 26, 2010

Sudden Cardiac Arrest
• EMS treats nearly 300,000 victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year in the U.S.
• Less than eight percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive.
• Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time. Many victims appear healthy with no known heart disease or other risk factors.
• Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked. A heart attack may cause cardiac arrest.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Less than one-third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR.
• Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
• The American Heart Association trains more than 12 million people in CPR annually, including healthcare professionals and the general public.
• The most effective rate for chest compressions is 100 compressions per minute – the same rhythm as the beat of the BeeGee’s song, “Stayin’ Alive.”

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
• Unless CPR and defibrillation are provided within minutes of collapse, few attempts at resuscitation are successful.
• Even if CPR is performed, defibrillation with an AED is required to stop the abnormal rhythm and restore a normal heart rhythm.
• New technology has made AEDs simple and user-friendly. Clear audio and visual cues tell users what to do when using an AED and coach people through CPR. A shock is delivered only if the victim needs it.
• AEDs are now widely available in public places such as schools, airports and workplaces.

Teens/Youth
• About 5,800 children 18 years old and under suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year from all causes – including trauma, cardiovascular causes and sudden infant death syndrome.
• The incidence of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in high school athletes ranges from .28 to 1 death per 100,000 high school athletes annually in the U.S.
• The American Heart Association does not have a minimum age requirement for people to learn CPR. The ability to perform CPR is based more on body strength rather than age.

History of CPR

Highlights of the History of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

1740   The Paris Academy of Sciences officially recommended mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims.
1767   The Society for the Recovery of Drowned Persons became the first organized effort to deal with sudden and unexpected death.
1891   Dr. Friedrich Maass performed the first equivocally documented chest compression in humans.
1903   Dr. George Crile reported the first successful use of external chest compressions in human resuscitation.
1904   The first American case of closed-chest cardiac massage was performed by Dr. George Crile.
1954   James Elam was the first to prove that expired air was sufficient to maintain adequate oxygenation.
1956   Peter Safar and James Elam invented mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
1957   The United States military adopted the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation method to revive unresponsive victims.
1960   Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was developed. The American Heart Association started a program to acquaint physicians with close-chest cardiac resuscitation and became the forerunner of CPR training for the general public.
1963   Cardiologist Leonard Scherlis started the American Heart Association's CPR Committee, and the same year, the American Heart Association formally endorsed CPR.
1966   The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences convened an ad hoc conference on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The conference was the direct result of requests from the American National Red Cross and other agencies to establish standardized training and performance standards for CPR.
1972   Leonard Cobb held the world's first mass citizen training in CPR in Seattle, Washington called Medic 2. He helped train over 100,000 people the first two years of the programs.
1981   A program to provide telephone instructions in CPR began in King County, Washington. The program used emergency dispatchers to give instant directions while the fire department and EMT personnel were en route to the scene. Dispatcher-assisted CPR is now standard care for dispatcher centers throughout the United States.

CPR Education, CPR Certification, San Antonio, Austin, TX