CPR Facts and Stats

 • About 75 to 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home, so being trained to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can mean the difference between life and death for a loved one.

• Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival.

• 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.

• Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.

• Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved.

• Brain death starts to occur four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time.

• If bystander CPR is not provided, a sudden cardiac arrest victim’s chances of survival fall 7 percent to 10 percent for every minute of delay until defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation are successful if CPR and defibrillation are not provided within minutes of collapse.

• Coronary heart disease accounts for about 550,000 of the 911,000 adults who die as a result of cardiovascular disease.

• Approximately 330,000 of all annual adult coronary heart disease deaths in the U.S. are due to sudden cardiac arrest, suffered outside the hospital setting and in hospital emergency departments.

About 900 Americans die every day due to sudden cardiac arrest.

• 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.

• When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the victim collapses, becomes unresponsive to gentle shaking, stops normal breathing and after two rescue breaths, still isn’t breathing normally, coughing or moving.

Medical Training Consultants Institute & College of Medical Training
join forces in teaching how to save lives by being a designated
Training Center for American Heart Association.

 A letter from American Heart Association ECC Programs -
Director of Training

National Center
7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75231-4596
Tel 1-888-CPR-LINE
www.americanheart.org

April 5, 2005

Dear partners in the American Heart Association Training Network:

This is an exciting and productive time for the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Programs. As you know, 2005 marks the review of current and new resuscitation science and the reevaluation and update of Guidelines 2000 for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. The outcome of this process impacts you as a member of the AHA Training Network, as well as the customers you train. This letter is the first of several communications you will receive communicating to you the critical information you need to continue to provide training and prepare for the release of new Guidelines.

The process of updating Guidelines for 2005 began almost as soon as the 2000 Guidelines were released. Since 2001, the world’s top experts in resuscitation and cardiovascular science have been meeting to review current and new science, and to come to an international consensus on science and treatment recommendations for 2005. Based on this international consensus and input from leaders in many professional healthcare organizations, AHA ECC will develop the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. The Guidelines will be published in December 2005, and will be used as the foundation for creating updated training materials, which will be released throughout 2006.

Throughout the process of releasing Guidelines and new products, the need for training will continue, and it is critical that Training Centers continue to provide courses to everyone that needs training in the healthcare, corporate, and public environments. For example, many corporations continue to implement AED programs and need training to support implementation.

They are adopting these programs to save lives and we need to provide training to them without delay. Also, regardless of discipline, each year, the AHA receives more than 300,000 phone calls requesting help in finding an AHA BLS (including Heartsaver®), ACLS, or PALS course. Despite the Guidelines update process, providers will continue to need and seek training, and delivering training to them cannot wait. Current course materials will be available during the update process and should be used until new materials are released.  As you begin to plan and budget your Training Center’s needs for 2006 and beyond, please consider the following timeline:

December 2005

♥ The American Heart Association will publish the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. This document first will be published in the journal Circulation, then will be available as a reprint through the AHA distributors.

♥ The winter issue of Currents will feature a summary of key changes to the ECC Guidelines. This issue of Currents, as well as all other issues, are/will be available free of charge on the AHA Web site at www.americanheart.org/cpr.

January 2006

♥ Interim guidance on how to integrate changes in resuscitation science into specific, current ECC course materials will be provided to Instructors and Training Centers. This will ensure that current training materials can be utilized prior to the release of new training materials in 2006, enabling you to continue to meet the needs of your customers.

♥ The AHA Handbook of Emergency Care for Healthcare Providers will be released.

January – June 2006

♥ All Basic Life Support (BLS) course materials, including Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers, all Heartsaver® (including Heartsaver® First Aid), and Family & Friends community materials will be released. This will include instructor and student materials, exams, and all other auxiliary materials.

July – September 2006

♥ All Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) course materials will be released. This will include instructor and student materials, exams, and all other auxiliary materials.

October – December 2006

♥ All Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course materials will be released. This will include instructor and student materials, exams, and all other auxiliary materials. As the release of the 2005 Guidelines and new materials draws near, we will work diligently to keep you informed about any changes or updates to the above timeline. In the meantime, please feel free to contact your ECC Service Center with any questions.  We appreciate your commitment to providing lifesaving ECC training. Stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Jo Haag
Director of Training