Nearly a third of people would not perform CPR if they saw someone collapse, survey reveals
Almost one in three people you walk past today would not perform CPR on you if your heart stopped in the street.
A survey by the British Heart Foundation has found only 70 percent of people say they would try to resuscitate someone if they saw them collapse, dailymail.co.uk wrote.
And not everyone would call an ambulance if you passed out and stopped breathing — four percent of people said they weren’t likely to phone 999 in that situation.
Experts warn people’s lives are being put at risk because not enough Brits know how to do CPR, but say “doing something to help is always better than doing nothing”.
Fewer than one in 10 people in the UK survive a cardiac arrest if they’re not already in hospital — a damning ¿gure when compared to Norway, where children learn CPR at school and as many as a quarter survive.
“You may not feel con¿dent performing CPR if you haven’t been trained or you don’t remember your training, but without your early action the chances someone will survive a cardiac arrest are virtually zero,” said BHF chief executive Simon Gillespie.
The BHF revealed the shameful statistics as part of its Restart a Heart Day today, Tuesday October 16, which will see 200,000 people taught how to do CPR.
Researchers from the University of Warwick and Yougov surveyed 4,000 adults in the UK about their knowledge of CPR and con¿dence in performing it.
People’s brains start to die from lack of oxygen after less than three minutes of the heart stopping in a cardiac arrest, meaning fast, early treatment is critical.
Having CPR — short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation — immediately after the heart stops can more than double the chance of someone surviving, the BHF said.
So although 96 percent of people said they would call an ambulance if someone collapsed and stop breathing, the time it takes for paramedics to arrive could be long enough for the patient to die.
Joe Mulligan, head of ¿rst aid education at the British Red Cross said: “When someone is unresponsive and not breathing it’s a matter of life and death.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be used to try to restart someone’s heart if it has stopped.
CPR should only be used in an emergency situation if someone is unconscious and not breathing.
People without CPR training should stick to hands-only chest compressions, the NHS said.
To carry out a chest compression:
● Place the heel of your hand on the breastbone at the center of the person’s chest. Place your other hand on top of your ¿rst hand and interlock your ¿ngers.
● Position yourself with your shoulders above your hands.
● Using your body weight (not just your arms), press straight down by 5-6cm (2-2.5 inches) on their chest.
● Keeping your hands on their chest, release the compression and allow the chest to return to its original position.
● Repeat these compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 times per minute until an ambulance arrives or you become exhausted.
“Without immediate intervention with CPR and a de¿brillator the chances are that person will not survive.
“While it’s normal to feel worried about performing CPR, it’s important to remember that doing something to help is always better than doing nothing.”
CPR involves using the hands to push down on someone’s chest to manually pump blood from the heart to the brain to keep them alive.
And, if a patient has stopped breathing, the person performing CPR can blow into the patient’s mouth to ¿ll the lungs with air — but this isn’t recommended in all cases.
Restart a Heart Day is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the importance of CPR.
It is organized jointly by the BHF, the Resuscitation Council, St John Ambulance, the British Red Cross, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and ambulance and ¿re services across the country.
The Government’s Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, added: “Knowing how to save someone’s life is one of the most powerful skills you can learn.
“That’s why we plan to teach ¿rst aid as part of health education, which we intend to make compulsory in all state funded schools from 2020.
“This change will mean pupils learn how to be safe. It’s never too late to learn how to be a lifesaver and I’d encourage people of all ages to learn ¿rst aid.”