CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is a lifesaving technique that greatly increases the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims. It is a rescue and lifesaving technique that each individual should know.
CPR is a procedure that one person applies to another to maintain their blood circulation and oxygen levels in the body by compressing the chest and breathing air into their lungs.
Let’s break down the letters, C-P-R, one by one!
Cardio
Cardio refers to the heart, the blood-pumping muscle in our chest cavity, that contracts and expands over sixty times each minute. The heart muscle is automatically driven by electrical impulses that keep the body alive. The heart’s function is to pump oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the rest of the body’s vital organs. When the heart stops, oxygen does not reach the vital organs, and they malfunction. Within minutes, tissue death begins, creating a tremendous amount of problems, such as brain damage or ultimately death.
Pulmonary
Pulmonary refers to the lungs. Each minute, an individual breathes about 15 to 25 times. With each breath, you fill your lungs with oxygen that your organs need to function. Oxygen is vital to the body because it gets combined with sugar within the body, and the body uses the combination as a fuel. Tissues within our body store little oxygen, so oxygen must be restored continuously.
Resuscitation
In CPR, the final R stands for resuscitation, which means restoring the life of someone who appears to be dead. When your heart stops, your lungs stop receiving the oxygen they require. The body has but a few minutes of stored oxygen, and when it runs out, cells and tissue begin to die, and brain damage can result. The average length of time before a cell begins to die is four to six minutes, and after ten minutes without oxygen, reviving a person is unlikely.
Situations that may prevent oxygen from reaching the lungs include:
- Drowning or suffocation
- Poisoning
- Choking
- Heart Attack
- Electric Shock
- Ventricular Fibrillation
The answer to “what does CPR stand for?” is that it’s a lifesaving technique that combines manually pumping the victim’s heart along with breath resuscitation.
Without CPR, victims that suffer from cardiac arrest outside of a hospital have little hope. When CPR is properly performed, it stimulates up to 40% of normal circulation, which may be the window of hope that saves the victim’s life as you wait for a medical emergency response team. The bottom line is that without CPR training, bystanders often watch fearfully and hopelessly as a loved one or total stranger dies.
If you want to learn how to save a life, you can enroll yourself in American Heart Association CPR classes or American Red Cross CPR classes. It’s now even possible to learn CPR online. Getting certified in CPR has never been so convenient and affordable. As a responsible member of society, learn how to save a life by enrolling in a CPR class today!