Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was formally developed and its effectiveness in saving lives demonstrated in 1960. The American has been the top provider of training in CPR and certifies those qualified to perform advanced life saving or to train others. In 2005 and 2010, the AHS led the medical community in revising its guidelines based on research. A major change in the 2010 guidelines is to emphasize , with minimal interruption, over rescue breathing, even if it's done with little or no training.
Instructions
1. Enter your ZIP code or state and other information, such as the kind of training course you want and dates when you'd like to take a course, into the Heart Association's "ECC Class Connector" (see Resources). The search will return either complete contact information for specific scheduled classes or a list of organizations that provide the kind of training you've selected.
2. Organize your own family or community group for "CPR Anytime." Self-directed training packages are available for $34.95 each as of 2011 on the CPR Anytime website (see Resources). Each includes a simplified, inflatable practice figure, DVD and print materials. The AHA says users can learn core skills in 22 minutes, working solo or in groups, that are as effective as skills learned in traditional certification courses and appropriate for people who may have only one or two occasions to ever use CPR training.
3. Navigate to the Be the Beat website (see Resources) for lesson plans for teachers. Click on "Not a Teen? Get Out" for the plans. The AHA's program for high school and middle school students emphasizes "Do the best you can." The AHA still encourages formalized training, but it now encourages everyone to know enough about CPR to try it rather than stand by helplessly. "Hands-only" CPR --- chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth resuscitation --- has been found to be as effective as full-scale CPR in preserving life until fully trained help arrives, and emergency dispatchers can talk untrained rescuers through life-saving measures.
Tags: chest compressions, Heart Association, kind training, website Resources