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75-80% of all out-of-hospital cardiac
arrests happen at home.
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Effective CPR provided immediately after
cardiac arrest can double a victim's chance of survival.
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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.
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Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not
inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved.
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Brain death starts to occur 4-6 minutes
after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation
are performed during that time.
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If CPR is not performed, a sudden cardiac
arrest victim's chances of survival fall 7 to 10% for every minute of
delay until defibrillated. Few attempts at resuscitation are
successful if CPR and defibrillation are not provided within
minutes of collapse.
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Coronary heart disease accounts for about
550,000 of the 927,000 adults who die as a result of cardiovascular
disease.
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Approximately 335,000 of all annual adult
coronary heart disease deaths in the U.S. are due to sudden cardiac
arrest. About 900 Americans die every day due to sudden cardiac
arrest.
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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.
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When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the
victim collapses, becomes unresponsive to gentle shaking, stops normal
breathing and after two rescue breaths, still is not breathing normally,
coughing or moving.
