Hands-only CPR prepares individuals to aid a person in need without the traditional mouth-to-mouth assistance and is performed to the beat of the Bee Gees’ song “Staying Alive.” According to the American Heart Association website, “Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be equally as effective as conventional mouth-to-mouth CPR, and people are more likely to feel comfortable performing it. A December 2012 study published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation found that chest compression-only CPR performed by bystanders keeps more people alive with good brain function after having a sudden cardiac arrest.”
Shelby Martin, AHA Training Center coordinator, said, “When a bystander provides effective CPR to a cardiac arrest victim, they can double or triple that person’s chance of survival.”
The free course is designed for those looking for basic skills in emergency assistance, such as Hands-only CPR, relieving a choking victim and the use of an automatic external defibrillator. “We have had great success with this class in the past. Many people who took the basic, two-hour course found it so helpful, they returned to take the certification course,” Rebecca Long, a representative of CTC, said.
The HeartSaver CPR and AED class provides students more comprehensive training and offers a certification for those who are employed outside the healthcare field. The three-hour class is $20 and will be scheduled at various times throughout the week.
“The AHA has a goal to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020. Learning these techniques will make strides toward that goal,” Martin said.
The Basic Life Support class is directed at those in the healthcare profession, which requires certification in adult, child and infant CPR, AED and choking prevention. The class is offered for $30 during the specified week in June.
“The best response for a cardiac arrest victim is to have willing bystanders that are trained and equipped. In an effort to raise public awareness of what we can all do to help save a life, we will be offering these classes for free or at a discounted rate,” Martin said.
For more information or to register, please call 770-528-3538 or visit the program’s website at www.chattahoocheetech.edu/american-heart-association.