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Only half of people able to perform CPR in an emergency

CPR
CPR

Just half of people are able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if a loved one experienced cardiac arrest, a charity has found.

A survey of more than 4,000 adults found 51 per cent were able to give CPR - which doubles the chance of survival.

The British Heart Foundation urged people to learn the life-saving skill, warning that around 80 per cent of cases that occur outside of hospitals take place at home.

More than 30,000 cardiac arrests take place outside of a hospital setting in the UK every year.

But less than one in ten people survive, often because those around them don’t have the skills or confidence to perform CPR.

The charity is urging the public to learn CPR for free in just 15 minutes - using its online tool, RevivR. The tool means anyone can learn lifesaving CPR skills, anywhere, anytime - using a mobile phone and a cushion.

‘CPR could be the difference between life and death’

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, the charity’s chief executive said: “Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest and knowing CPR could be the difference between life and death. A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time - it could be your partner, your mum or dad or your child.”

The survey, which was carried out for the BHF by YouGov, also shows that a third of people (33 per cent) have never learned CPR. Of those, almost half (47 per cent) said it was because they didn’t know where to learn, while nearly a quarter (24 per cent) said they didn’t have the confidence to learn.

Sarah Edmonds was just 31 when she had a sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed in her three-year-old daughter’s bedroom in December 2020.

Her husband James was in the house and rushed to her aid, calling 999 and performing CPR for 20 minutes, helping to keep her alive until paramedics arrived and restarted her heart using a defibrillator.

Ms Edmonds spent four weeks in hospital before being allowed home.

She was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which will help control any potentially life-threatening heart rhythms in the future. Further tests later diagnosed Ms Edmonds had a heart condition called Long QT syndrome.

“Looking back, James was an absolute hero that day,” she said. “It was a horrific situation for him and yet without him doing what he did, I wouldn’t be here.”

She said: “Words just cannot express how grateful I am that James was there when I needed him most to give me CPR. Thanks to him I get to celebrate my daughter’s birthday, and I get to see her face at Christmas. This is the difference CPR can make.”

RevivR teaches how to recognise a cardiac arrest, gives feedback on chest compressions and outlines the correct steps when using a defibrillator.