CPR Awareness Week Ends Tuesday - and Eastside Fire & Rescue to Hold CPR Class on June 11

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States accounting for an estimated 165,000 out-of-hospital deaths each year and only 7.9 percent of victims survive. Less than one-third of these victims received bystander CPR.

You and your spouse are at home late one night when your spouse says he feels a bit uncomfortable and begins to hold his chest. The symptoms don’t go away, but he tells you that it is simply something he must have eaten that is causing him some indigestion. He suddenly collapses and falls to the floor. He’s now unconscious and doesn’t appear to be breathing. What now?

Certainly calling 911 would be your best next move, but did you realize that in the short period of time it might take the local fire department to arrive to your home could make the difference in his survival? You thought about taking a CPR class through the local fire department or through the American Heart Association for years, but never got around to learning this life-saving skill.

Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.  Time is crucial and unless CPR is provided within minutes of collapse the victim has very little chance. Performing CPR before emergency personnel arrive can make the difference between life and death.

During this week (June 1 to 7) each year, CPR classes and demonstrations are conducted and educational information is distributed on the importance of being trained in CPR. We encourage you to find out about local events in your area. Eastside Fire & Rescue (EF&R) holds monthly CPR classes with our next class held on June 11.  Just stop by any EF&R fire station and sign-up today!

-- This information was supplied by Eastside Fire & Rescue. It is being reposted as a public service. Eastside Fire & Rescue has three stations in Sammamish: , and .