Will you know what to do?

If you were at the park doing your daily exercise routine with your best friend and all of the sudden he or she collapses, will you know what to do next? According to the American Heart Association, "about 92 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital", maybe if you were CPR certified you would know what to do to next time to save your friend's life. But if unfortunately you are not one of the 12 million people that are CPR/AED (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation/ Automated External Defibrillator) certified then your friend might become part of those 92 percent that will die without reaching the hospital. The American Heart Association statistics have proven, "that if more people knew CPR/AED, more lives could be saved".

How can someone make a difference and start saving lives by changing the survival percentages? Well it's easy, become CPR/AED certified. Eddie Villarreal Director of Health Career Institute of Laredo and Instructor of the CPR plus Training Program claims that, "basic life support and CPR will come in handy in the event of any emergency". The big question now is what is CPR/AED? CPR/AED is basic cardio pulmonary resuscitation. Villarreal explains that CPR is needed to keep the blood flowing into the heart and getting oxygen to the brain to prevent brain damage when a person collapses.  CPR consists of 30 chest compressions and 2 mouth to mouth breaths. On the other hand, Villarreal also explained the importance of AED's.  An AED is an Automated External Defibrillator and it's used to shock the heart when a person is unable to gain a heartbeat. Although the process may seem easy, one must go through a series of trainings to know how to perform the proper CPR.

There are various methods to gain the certification. Interested individuals can opt to register for a course at any CPR/AED facility that follows the ECC (Emergency Cardiovascular Care) 2010 guidelines, there you will receive a series of course that will not only educate but also train the individual in how to perform proper CPR. Upon completion of the courses then an exam will be taken, in which the individual gets to reenact and perform CPR/AED, and eventually receive his or hers certification.  This type of method has a price range of 25 up to 75 dollars depending on individuals needs, the total amount of time that is need to complete this training is 4 hours. In addition, the Texas A&M International University also offers a three semester hour course titled EDFS 2325 First Aid or (PHED 1306), in which students may gain their CPR/AED certification. Not only students become CPR/AED certified, but they also learn how to prevent other incidents that may be life threading. According to the www.tamiu.eduwebsite catalog description upon completion, "students will earn a three- year American Red Cross First Aid/ AED certificate and one year CPR certificate". This course is a great elective that will educate people in how to take initiative to save a life. Although the method is lengthier it's still an option for those who want to become certified, the price range for this certification is varied.

If you or someone you know want to become CPR/AED certified you can visit The American Heart Association website www.heart.org, to find the CPR/AED training facility nearest to you. You may also call The Health Career Institute of Laredo at (956) 728-8290 or visit them at 1801 Gust St. Suite 1. Or you can visit with your advisor to register for First Aid course for further information on the course you may visit the www.tamiu.eduwebsite.

 For any additional information I may be contacted at evelyn_camero@dusty.tamiu.edu.