Duke University School of Medicine attempts to set world record in CPR training
By Erin Burnett
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CLEMMONS, North Carolina (WXII) — February is recognized as American Heart Month.
A team at the Duke University School of Medicine is trying to increase the number of people who survive cardiac arrest while setting a world record.
On Wednesday, the team will attempt to train the most people in hands-only CPR in one day — at least 30,000 people.
Lisa Monk is the Implmentation Director at Duke Clinical Reaearch Institute, and is helping organize the event.
“Cardiac arrest is different than heart attack. Heart Attack is a plumbing problem where you have minutes, if not hours, to treat. But cardiac arrest is an electrical problem, and it needs immediate treatment with CPR,” Monk explained.
According to experts at Duke University, cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of death in the United States.
University experts say only one in ten victims survive a cardiac arrest.
The trainings will happen all day across 30 counties in North Carolina, including Forsyth County.
Organizers say they are attempting to beat this record as part of a study focused on improving out-of-hospital survival rates from cardiac arrest.
“We’ve been doing this [trainings] for the last four years. But we wanted one last opportunity to try to break the world record in teaching people compression only, CPR,” Monk said.
Organizers say the training is free and only takes a few minutes.
Experts emphasize that bystander CPR can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
“Every minute that goes by, the chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. So it’s important that as soon as somebody collapses, that we check to see if they’re responsive. We call 911, and then we need to start compressions and then get in AED if there’s one available,” Monk explained.
Monk said especially in rural communities where quick access to EMS and fire stations varies, it is important for every-day residents to be able to step in and help save a life.
“If it’s not for the bystander doing CPR, it could be, up to 20 minutes for them trying to do compressions, waiting on somebody to get there, but if that bystander doesn’t step in, that person has no chance at recovery,” she said.
Monk said there are also a few stigmas that stop CPR-certified people from taking action during an emergency.
These include being sued, (especially in the instance something goes wrong), and injuring the victim.
Monk debunked these fears.
“In North Carolina, we have the Good Samaritan Law. So you cannot be sued. You are not going to hurt the person. They can recover from a broken rib, but they can’t recover… you know from death, if you don’t step in and do it,” she explained.
There is a list of popular songs that can help even an untrained person step in and perform CPR at a moments notice. A popular one is ‘Staying Alive’ by Bee Gees, with a tempo of 103 beats per minute.
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