Heart attack and stroke and remain the top killers of Filipinos. 276 die from heart attack every day while stroke claims the life of one Filipino every minute (Department of Health). Most them will die within the confines of their homes. The simple fact is, knowing what to do in an emergency situation can mean the difference between life or death for your loved ones. The usual reaction will kick-in, we can just call local Rescue/Emergency Response Team and they will take care of the situation swiftly, or look for a possible way to transport the patient to the nearest clinic or hospitable as soon as possible. But every second at this kind of situation is very critical. Considerthis facts:

 Between 30-180 seconds of oxygen deprivation, you may lose consciousness.
 At the one-minute mark, brain cells begin dying.
 At three minutes, neurons suffer more extensive damage, and lasting brain damage becomes more likely.
 At five minutes, death becomes imminent.
 At 10 minutes, even if the brain remains alive, a coma and lasting brain damage are almost inevitable.
 At 15 minutes, survival becomes nearly impossible.

But most of these lives can be save or could have been saved, with Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Just togive you an idea how many lives are saved by using Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) saves at least 29,000 (American Heart Association) lives are saved each year.

In the Philippines records showed that roughly 50 percent of deaths from cardiovascular diseases happened as sudden cardiac arrest (Philippine Heart Association) and most were witnessed by a family member.

But only 4% to 6% of sudden cardiac arrest patients survived because majority of those who witnessed it were ignorant about CPR, a life saving skill that everyone shoud know, a skill that can and will save life, a life of a stranger, a life of your love ones.

Being a First Responder myself, I now that it will drastically decrease the number of deaths due to Heart Attack and Stroke, that is, if at least one member of every household knows how to apply CPR. A skill that will not give you any monetary gain, but it will certainly give someone a second lease in life.

Love Life, Learn CPR.

By: ANTHONY S. BLISS