June 6, 2024
Contact: media@dhs.lacounty.gov
“WHAT IF IT WERE THEM?”
LA County Offers Free Hands-Only CPR Training in Long Beach
Helping Prepare the Public to Save their Loved Ones in Case of Cardiac Arrest
Long Beach, CA – Los Angeles County residents learned how to save the life of a loved one using Hands-Only CPR. Participants got one-on-one instruction from first responders and were able to practice on manikins. Instruction was provided at El Dorado Park West in Long Beach by representatives from the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency, the Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Fire Departments, the American Heart Association, and the American Red Cross.
Hands-Only CPR is easy to learn, can be performed by anyone, and can triple the chances of survival when a person suffers cardiac arrest. According to Doctor Nichole Bosson, Medical Director for the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMS), “Each year EMS in LA County responds to nearly 8,000 persons in cardiac arrests. Less than half of them received CPR before EMS arrival. Anyone can perform bystander CPR and help increase the chance of survival for their loved one, or even a stranger.” CPR started immediately after cardiac arrest keeps blood and oxygen pumping to the brain and other vital organs until medical professionals can restart the heart.
The event featured survivors whose lives were saved by a loved one. “Not only is it important to start Hands-Only CPR quickly because it can save someone’s life, but also because it most definitely will impact the quality of their life afterwards if they do survive,” said Steven Munatones, CEO and Co-Founder of KAATSU Global, whose life was saved by CPR. “Tests showed I lost some brain activity from my cardiac arrest. But if my son had not done Hands-Only CPR, and done so immediately, I would have lost a lot more brain activity, if not my life.”
If you find someone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally, first make sure the scene is safe, call 911 and, if possible, send someone to locate an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). To perform Hands-Only CPR, push hard and fast in the center of the chest at 100 – 120 beats per minute. Continue this until EMS arrives. To help keep the pace you can push to the beat of songs such as “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z, or “Calm Down” by Rema with Selena Gomez.
Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States and most often happens at home. “Hands-Only CPR is a critical skill that every person should have in their back pocket,” said Anh Pham, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Optum California and a volunteer expert with the American Heart Association. “We want to turn bystanders into lifesavers, so that anyone anywhere is prepared and empowered to perform CPR.”
This event is just one of many taking place in Los Angeles County and across the nation as part National CPR and AED Awareness Week (June 1-7). “Organizations across the county will be training the public in Hands-Only CPR this week. Through programs such as these we have increased our bystander CPR rate in the county from 11% to 40%, quadrupling our chance of saving lives in Los Angeles County,” said Richard Tadeo, Director of the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency.
The goal is to provide the public with the necessary tools so they may feel confident stepping in to save a life using Hands-Only CPR during a cardiac arrest emergency.
For more information, please visit:
Sidewalk CPR – Emergency Medical Services Agency (lacounty.gov)
###