American Heart Month: Saving Lives

By Tanesha Hayes, Volunteer

February is all about health and love! It’s what we call, American Heart Month. The month was created to raise awareness and combat the disturbing fact that more than half the deaths in the U.S were caused by cardiovascular disease. This disease can affect both your health and social aspects of your life. Your exercise patterns, what you eat, family involvement, employment options and ability to have fun (say goodbye to crazy rides at amusement parks), are the most common aspects of people’s lives effected by cardiovascular disease. Not to mention, living with cardiovascular disease decreases life expectancy and increases your chance of depression. Heart health not only affects you but everyone close to you!

I encourage every person to take initiative and combat cardiovascular disease. You can do this by learning more about the heart, living a healthy life style, and preparing yourself to handle any cardiac crisis that could happen.

The American Red Cross understands the importance of heart health and that cardiac attacks could affect anyone within moment’s notice. Would you know what to do if someone near you needed saving? After taking the CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation)/AED (Automatic defibrillator) course, you will be trained and certified to save anyone during an emergency.

The CPR/AED course teaches students how to save a life during a cardiac or breathing emergency. To be more specific, this skill can be useful for saving an adult or child in cases of a heart attack, near drowning, or when a person’s heartbeat has stopped. Reid Heiser is a former student of the Red Cross’s CPR/AED course. The 17-year-old saved the life of Jim Hammer when he collapsed at the recreation center where Reid worked. This incident was unexpected and happened one week after completing his Red Cross CPR training. Both Reid and Jim are thankful for the CPR training and are now friends!

This month is about the love of our hearts- and others. Like Reid, you never know when you’ll have to perform a lifesaving act, but you’ll be proud when you know how!

If you are interested in learning more about the CPR/AED course, check out the Red Cross website.



Sources: 
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-3566-american-heart-month-1964
https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr
https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/aed
https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/aed/using-an-aed
https://sites.google.com/a/cornell.edu/cardiovascular-disease-in-the-united-states/social-impacts

Show Your Love this Valentine's Day 💗 Learn CPR with the Red Cross 💕

By Rose Ellen O'Connor, Volunteer

February is National Heart Month❤, and the perfect time to learn how to save lives with your American Red Cross. Knowing how to perform CPR and being able to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) during a cardiac emergency are just a few of the many ways you can make a difference. 

Why not show your love this Valentine’s Day by learning how to save a heart-attack victim’s life? 💓

In response to the thousands who die every year in the U.S. from Sudden Cardiac Arrest, the American Red Cross offers CPR and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) classes throughout the Washington area. Nationally, the American Red Cross trains 9 million people a year in life-saving skills.
The difference between a bystander and someone trained in CPR or AED can be the difference between life and death.

More than 356,000 people in the U.S. suffer out-of-hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA and nine out of ten die, according to the American Heart Association. That means that one person every two minutes dies somewhere in the country from sudden cardiac arrest, notes AED.com, making SCA the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and killing more people than lung cancer, breast cancer and HIV/AIDs combined.

There are rarely symptoms and almost no warning when SCA strikes, says AED.com. The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation explains that SCA occurs when the heart stops beating. It can happen to all sorts of people, including children and teens. The person suffering an SCA collapses and may gasp or shake as if having a seizure, according to the foundation. The victim’s heart is no longer pumping blood throughout the body or to the brain.

That’s when CPR and AED come into play. There are only a few minutes to spare. To administer CPR, a rescuer places one hand on top of the other in the middle of the chest and pushes hard and fast, using body weight to administer compressions that are at least two inches deep and at least 100 per minute. The victim’s head is tilted slightly back, chin lifted and nose pinched closed. The rescuer places his mouth over the person’s mouth to make a complete seal and blows two times into the mouth to make the chest rise. Compressions are then continued. CPR can buy time until an ambulance arrives. It’s even better if an AED, a padded device that analyzes the heart and may deliver a shock to restart the heart’s normal rhythm, is available.

CPR given within three to six minutes of the onset of cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.

The American Red Cross, in conjunction with affiliates, offers a four-hour course in First Aid, CPR and AED. You can receive certification in each of the areas that is valid for two years. The classes are given throughout the region during the day and evening and on weekends. They start at $70 and free refreshers are offered online.

Red Cross also offers web-based training. It allows you to work at your own pace and requires only a short, in-person session to check your skills.

Below is a list of the courses we offer – with classroom, online + classroom, and online only options available:
• First AID
• CPR
• AED
• BLS/CPS for Healthcare
• Babysitting & Child Care
• Swimming + Water Safety
• Lifeguarding
• CNA Training
• CNA Testing
• Instructor Training

Register in seconds at www.redcross.org/take-a-class and start your journey to save a life.


You can also download the free Red Cross First Aid App for instant access to information on handling the most common first aid emergencies, including sudden cardiac arrest, at your fingertips.