Over a quarter of Welsh adults would not attempt CPR!

Over a quarter of Welsh adults would not attempt CPR

 On Restart a Heart Day, British Heart Foundation Cymru calls for more people to learn CPR

Over a quarter (27%) of adults living in Wales wouldn’t perform CPR if they saw someone suffer a cardiac arrest, according to worrying new figures released to mark Restart a Heart Day.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), commissioned the research, say the figures show that lives are still being put at risk every day because not enough people know how to perform CPR.

Researchers from the University of Warwick Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcome (OHCAO) Registry team worked with YouGov to survey over 4,000 UK adults. Participants were asked questions about their knowledge of CPR, and whether they would feel confident in performing it on someone who had had a cardiac arrest.

Restart a Heart Day, is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the importance of CPR, which will today see over 200,000 people trained in life saving CPR. The campaign is organised jointly by the BHF, the Resuscitation Council (UK), Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, St John Ambulance, the British Red Cross, and ambulance trusts and fire and rescue services across the UK. This year for the first time, the day will be marked globally, as training and awareness events take place for World Restart a Heart Day.

The UK campaign, which is now in its fifth year, was launched after figures revealed that less than 1 in 10 people in Britain survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest. In countries where CPR is taught in schools, as many as 1 in 4 survive.

Although 98% of those who responded in Wales said they were likely to call an ambulance if they saw someone had collapsed and had stopped breathing, the time it takes for theemergency services to arrive can mean the difference between life and death. Brain tissue starts to die within three minutes after the heart stops, due to a lack of oxygen. Early CPR can more than double a person’s chances of survival, and can buy the time needed before paramedics arrive and provide care.

 Richard Barrett, 68, from Cilmery near Builth Wells had a cardiac arrest at home in April. His neighbour Simon Mason’s ability to perform CPR saved Richard’s life.

Richard, who was experiencing discomfort during the day and thought he was just suffering from indigestion, collapsed at home one evening and stopped breathing. His partner Judith immediately called 999 and then called their friend and neighbour, Simon Mason who runs the Prince Llewelyn pub in the village. Simon had learnt CPR years before as a sea cadet, and quickly took action even though Richard was unconscious and wasn’t breathing. Simon performed CPR on Richard for more than 45 minutes until paramedics arrived and took over. Richard spent almost two months in hospital after his cardiac arrest. He had a procedure to fit one stent and a defibrillator inserted into his heart, and now takes medication daily.

Richard said:

“Ultimately I can’t thank Simon enough. I have very little memory of the events of that night but I know that without his quick action I may not be here today. It’s so important that more people learn CPR so that more lives can be saved.”

Simon added:

“It was incredibly scary and emotional finding my friend not breathing and unresponsive but I just knew I had to help him. I remembered my CPR training even though it had been a long time ago and I just kept going until the paramedics arrived. It’s made me realise what a vital life skill being trained in CPR is and I think everyone should learn it.”

Adam Fletcher, Head of BHF Cymru said:

“You may not feel confident 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. The BHF is striving to improve survival rates by creating a Nation of Lifesavers through our CPR training programmes. By raising awareness on Restart a Heart Day, we hope more people will see that CPR really can be the difference between life and death and that doing something is always better than doing nothing.”

Dr Brendan Lloyd, Medical Director for WAST said:

“Many people don’t realise that if they wereimmediately able to start CPR should someone suffer a cardiac arrest in front of them, the chance of survival doubles.”

“We’re delighted to be working together with the British Heart Foundation to promote and encourage people to learn how to do CPR through Restart a Heart Day 2018.”

BHF Cymru’s Call Push Rescue CPR training kits are available in Welsh and English and are free to eligible Welsh secondary schools. They are also available to order by community groups and workplaces. For more information about CPR, visit: https://www.bhf.org.uk/restart2018

People of all ages can join in online by playing free game-in-a-films Lifesaver and Lifesaver VR  

to learn and practise their CPR skills and gain familiarity with defibrillator use. Learn more at https://www.resus.org.uk/apps/lifesaver/

Help young people develop the skills and confidence to help in a first aid situation with First aid learning for young people from the British Red Cross. It covers 16 first aid skills, brought to life by realistic scenarios, videos, case studies, images, online quizzes and optional role-plays.http://firstaidlearningforyoungpeople.redcross.org.uk/