CPR instruction should be required
Updated 4:34 pm, Thursday, April 11, 2013
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation saves lives.
Pending legislation requiring Texas students to learn CPR before they graduate high school could create a lifesaving army in the state.
When administered immediately after sudden cardiac arrest occurs, CPR can double and even triple a victim's chance of survival, but only one in three receives CPR from a bystander, according to American Heart Association.
Cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic and the heart stops beating, and can be caused by many factors including a heart attack, trauma, an overdose or drowning. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, but 70 percent of Americans are untrained in providing CPR.
Texas lawmakers are hoping to substantially increase the number of bystanders knowledgeable about administering CPR by requiring Texas schools to include a single 30-minute class of instruction on CPR as part of the health class curriculum for students in grades 7 through 12.
Many school districts already include CPR training as part of their curriculum. A 30-minute CPR class that could save lives can hardly be considered a burden and can be easily incorporated into the curriculum.
The American Heart Association reports that of the 383,000 victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the United States, only 11 percent survive. Teaching all middle and high school students CPR would significantly impact those numbers. Already, 36 states have laws or curriculums that require CPR training.
It makes sense to empower Texas school children with the lifesaving knowledge that will serve them a lifetime.