Learn Hands-Only CPR

I've written before about learning CPR. You can take a class at the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association, or learn at home with with a kit you can use on your own schedule. But what if you haven't taken those classes? Or if it's been a while and you're not confident in your CPR Skills. For those of use who are a bit nervous about using conventional CPR, the American Heart Association now gives another simpler way to save someone's life: hands-only CPR.

Hands-only CPR calls for just two steps:

1. Call 911. Call yourself or better yet, send someone else to call.
2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest. Center your palm between the breast line. Place your other hand on top with your shoulder directly above so you push straight down. The goal is about 100 beats per minute. Sing the song "Stayin' Alive" to keep time.

A few notes:

* Don't be afraid. A person who has collapsed from a heart attack is dying, so your actions can only help.
* Don't use this technique with infants, children, victims of drowning, those who collapse due to breathing problems. These people have less oxygen in their blood and so need conventional CPR with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Check out the hands-only CPR FAQ if you have questions and check out the hands-only CPR video demo. It may be all you need to save the someone's life, perhaps the life of someone you know and love.

Less than one third of people who have a heart attack at home, work or in a public space get the immediate CPR they need. Hands-only CPR can change that. Call 911. Press hard and fast on the center of the chest. Got it? Good.

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out what you need to know; and it's knowing how to use the information you get." - William Feather