Heartbeat: Bringing Light to an Important Life-Saving Skill
By: Megan Dobbs and Marchita Johnson
Updated: June 4, 2010
This week is the American Heart Association's CPR Awareness Week. And, the recent death of a Wylie High School graduate brings to light an important life-saving skill.
Kyla Stevenson drowned in a residential pool last weekend. The home residents say they pulled her out of the water, and tried CPR until medics arrived.
Though Kyla still died, the resident's efforts point to the very thing the Heart Association wants Americans to learn, CPR.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, more commonly referred to as CPR, is something the American Heart Association wants you to learn.
According to the American Heart Association, about 80 percent of cardiac arrests happen at home.
AHA says with every minute that passes after sudden cardiac arrest, a victim's chances of survival fall seven to ten percent if they don't get help - like CPR.
Metrocare Services here in Abilene want to take part in the life-saving effort.
So, they're planning to cross-train employees, and offer CPR courses to the community.
And, while there's no guarantee CPR will keep a loved one alive, it certainly ups the chance of survival against the nation's number one killer.
Metrocare's plans to offer CPR courses to the public are still in the early stages. There's no word on when classes would begin.
