Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, at any time: at the grocery store, in the break room, on the sidelines of a kid’s soccer game. The numbers make one thing clear: what happens in the first few minutes after someone collapses often decides whether they walk out of the hospital or don’t make it at all.
Whoever is closest when it happens becomes the response team, whether that’s a nurse, a warehouse supervisor, or someone’s coworker from accounting. Some of those people will know what to do. Many won’t. BLS and CPR certification is the difference between the two.
Cardiac Arrest Is More Common Than You Think
Every year, more than 350,000 people in the United States experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association. That works out to roughly 1,000 events a day, in homes, workplaces, gyms, and public spaces across the country.
Roughly 90 percent of these events end in death. Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death, and it can strike anyone at any age, often without warning.
Globally, cardiac arrest claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, auto accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined, according to the American Heart Association.
Immediate CPR Makes a Huge Difference
Immediate CPR can triple a person’s chance of survival, according to the American Red Cross, and survival chances drop by roughly 10 percent for every minute that CPR and defibrillation are delayed.
Right now, the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has hovered around 10 percent for the past two decades, while in-hospital events see closer to 21 percent survival. Those numbers move when trained people act quickly, which is the entire premise behind BLS certification.
The Bystander Problem
Just over 42 percent of cardiac arrest patients receive bystander CPR, per the most recent Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival report (CARES). That figure has crept upward in recent years, which is encouraging, but it still means more than half of victims get no help at all before EMS arrives.
According to the American Red Cross, the main reason for that disparity is the assumption that someone more qualified will step in. Unfortunately, that assumption gets people killed. In most cases, there isn’t a medical professional in the room, just whoever happens to be closest.
Whether an arrest is witnessed matters enormously, too. Patients whose collapse is witnessed by a bystander are more than three times as likely to survive compared to those whose arrest goes unnoticed.
But being present isn’t enough. Someone has to act confidently, which is what hands-on CPR and BLS training teaches.
AED Awareness in the Workplace
There are roughly 10,000 cardiac arrests in the workplace every year in the United States, according to OSHA data cited by the American Heart Association. Worse yet, only about half of employees can locate an AED at work.
Think about that for a second. Half the staff couldn’t find the device that could mean the difference between life and death. An AED does no good bolted to a wall if nobody knows it’s there or how to use it.
BLS courses walk learners through AED use, airway management, and situational awareness that turns a chaotic moment into a coordinated response.
What the Numbers Say About Training
Cardiac arrest is common. Untreated, it’s almost always fatal. Immediate CPR changes that equation dramatically, yet more than half of victims never receive it, and half the workforce doesn’t know where the nearest AED is located.
Training is the variable that moves every one of those numbers in the right direction. People who are certified don’t hesitate the way untrained bystanders often do. They recognize the signs faster, know where the equipment is, and, most importantly, act.
That’s the whole idea behind BLS certification at ACLS.com. Our courses are built around the latest AHA and ILCOR guidelines, designed by healthcare professionals, and structured so you retain what you learn. Get started today.
Reviewed By: Anne Margaret Perry, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FNP-C, CLNC, CEN, NRP, CP-C
