Tom Murphy
RedwoodAge.com

You've watched people giving CPR on TV a million times. You've seen the doctors yelling "Clear!" before jolting patients with defibrillators. But if the moment presented itself, would you feel confident to do the same?

Probably not, according to a survey conducted by the American Heart Association.

Although 89 percent of the adults in the survey said they would willing and able to help in a medical emergency, only 21 percent said they could perform CPR and only 15 percent believe they could shock a patient with an automate external defibrillator, or AED.

The survey's timing isn't coincidental. The results coincide with National CPR/AED Awareness Week, which is the first week of June. 

The goal of the week is to train more people in the two lifesaving techniques, and for good reason: Only about 6 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims survive. 

The survival rate drops by up to 10 percent in every minute where treatment is delayed, but only about one-third of victims receive CPR from bystanders. Without CPR, the victims die. Even with CPR, defibrillation is needed to restore a normal heart rhythm. 

The association noted that 166,200 Americans die from cardiac arrests each year - about 450 a day - as the electrical signals in the heart grow irregular. The attacks can strike anyone, including the physically fit, and aren't the same as heart attacks, although heart attacks can cause cardiac arrest.

"CPR and AED use are inextricably linked in the SCA survival chain, and it's crucial that bystanders take rapid action," said Dr. Lance Becker, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and spokesperson for the association. "If more people are trained and respond, we can save thousands more lives."

Learning How
The association provides CPR and AED instruction in classrooms and through a kit that includes an inflatable manikin and a DVD. The association's adult "Hands-Only CPR" training teaches people to call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast  - about 100 beats a minute - on the center of a victim's chest until help arrives. That's about the tempo of the disco anthem "Stayin' Alive."

The survey, which was sponsored by Phillips Healthcare, which makes AEDs, found two-thirds of the respondents had received CPR training - mostly in the military or through their jobs, but just 18 percent had training with defibrillators. 

AEDs are now commonly found in public places such as schools, airports and offices. They guide users through the process with simple voice cues. They won't deliver a shock unless a shock-able rhythm is detected.

"There's no reason for people to be afraid to act," Becker said. "We want people to feel confident that whatever action they choose - whether using an AED or performing conventional CPR or adult Hands-Only CPR - they are doing something to help, which could be a lifesaving decision."