The Power of CPR Training in Saving Lives

Being faced with a medical emergency can be terrifying to anyone, even worse for the bystander who had never experienced these situations before. This is where bystander reluctance comes in. Bystanders, especially those without CPR training, are hesitant to help mainly because they don’t know what to do.

What is CPR?

CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. It is a life-saving skill that includes the use of chest compressions and rescue breathes. CPR Training, on the other hand, prepares you for a variety of emergency situations by getting you armed with the skills and training necessary to assist someone who is choking, suffocating or drowning.

When you are resuscitating someone, you are acting as their life support machine. You push on their chest, you breathe into them, and you keep them alive while waiting for the emergency responders to arrive.

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading cause of emergencies that requires CPR. Around 356,000 people from the United States die every year due to sudden cardiac arrest alone.

All the studies show that there will be less brain and heart tissue damage, and better recovery rates if bystanders can step in and initiate CPR. Irreversible brain damage starts to occur in the first four minutes, so it is essential to start CPR within two minutes after the attack.

In a sudden cardiac arrest, check the victim’s pulse and heartbeat first. After checking closely and find that they are not breathing or become unconscious, you need to open their airway and commence CPR as soon as possible.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends uninterrupted chest compressions, equivalent to 100 chest compressions in a minute. This helps in keeping the victim’s heart and a brain full of oxygenated blood, keeping them alive until the emergency responder with defibrillator (AED) is ready to take over.

AED is used to provide shock to stop all electrical activity, allowing the natural pacemaker to restore a regular rhythm. CPR alongside the use of AED can give the victim a good chance of bringing them back to life.

As a former Emergency Care Nurse and now a First Aid Trainer, I clearly see the importance of CPR skills in helping a friend, family member, colleague or a stranger in crisis.

The most rewarding part of teaching first aid and CPR is every day I meet different people with different stories on how they used the skills they acquire during the training to care for themselves and to their loved ones. One of my students even said “By the end of my five-hour CPR training, I feel more confident now that I am equipped with these life-saving skills. It is reassuring and helps me feel prepared if I should find myself in an emergency.”

First Aid Pro is a Nationally Recognised Training Organisation that is passionate about teaching high-quality CPR to the public. Interested in a CPR course? Call our team 1300 029 132 at or visit thefirstaidcoursemelbourne.com.au for more information.