Important Facts to Know About CPR and AED
It can be hard to make sense of the facts when it comes to first aid and basic life support skills. From first aid courses to articles online, there is a lot of information available, and it can be difficult to distinguish the facts from misinformation or myths. Follow along to find out real facts about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that everyone should know so that you can help save lives in an emergency situation. These simple facts cover the basics of what you need to know, and CPR/AED training will teach you all of the skills you need to know in order to handle a variety of medical emergencies.
Know The CPR/AED Basics:
- When a person is unresponsive, CPR must be administered immediately. CPR manually pumps blood to the heart and provides oxygen to the brain which prevents serious organ damage, brain damage, or death. The American Heart Association reports that when CPR is performed right away, a victim’s chances of survival are double, or even triple, what they are when CPR is not performed immediately.
- CPR is not intended to restart a heart. AEDs are required to deliver a shock that can restart the heart in the event of a cardiac arrest.
- Continue to perform CPR and leave an AED on and running, even after you’ve called for help. While an AED can provide a shock to correct fatal arrhythmias of the heart, these arrhythmias can recur, even after a shock is administered. CPR pumps blood and oxygen to the major organs in the body, but it only works while it’s being performed. Don’t stop treating a victim until a first responder like a fire fighter or EMT has arrived at the scene and is ready to take over.
Becoming a First Aid Training Instructor
Knowledge of first aid skills can benefit any individual during emergency. While it’s good to have a grasp on the basics by taking a first aid course, it’s even more beneficial to become a training instructor yourself. This article examines the advantages of becoming a first aid trainer as well as the ways to become certified and how to teach first aid to others.
Why You Should Become a First Aid Trainer
In addition to regular training, it’s a smart idea to receive first aid certification as an instructor as well. When there are a greater number of first aid instructors in the world, they can teach life-saving skills to more people, giving a wider audience the tools they need to help in an emergency. It’s well worth it to become an expert in the skills required to save lives or help someone who is injured, and completing first aid training to become an instructor is a great use of your time and resources.
It’s beneficial to become a first aid training instructor so that you can pass your knowledge on to others. You could learn first aid and become an ambassador in your place of work, and you could use your first aid trainer certification to teach courses to other people in your organization. You can also lead first aid to groups through community centers, churches, schools, or become a qualified instructor to teach a first aid course to corporate groups or to people who are required to know first aid for their jobs. (more…)