Horrific NFL scene shows CPR's benefits

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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On Monday night, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin tragically became one of an estimated 356,000 Americans who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year. That's about 975 people a day.

Roughly 90% of the time, this health emergency is fatal. But the medical team that rushed onto the field in Cincinnati after Hamlin collapsed had the expertise and equipment to give him a fighting chance. The team administered CPR, used an automated external defibrillator (AED) and was able to restart the 24-year-old player's heart on the field. Hamlin remained hospitalized in critical condition on Tuesday.

The remaining 900 or so Americans whose hearts also suddenly stopped on the new year's second day, and the thousands who will have the same happen in the days and weeks ahead, almost certainly won't collapse during a Monday Night Football game with trainers and emergency personnel on the sidelines. Most cases of sudden cardiac arrest, which can affect people of all ages and fitness levels, occur in more-ordinary places, including a home, office, store, restaurant or gym.

Are you ready to help resuscitate a family member or friend who's crashed to the floor without a pulse? Sadly, most Americans are not, a reality that requires urgent remedy.

"Although 65% of people in the United States say they've received CPR training at some point in their lives, only 18% of people are up to date on their training," according to an Aug. 22 Harvard Heart Letter report.

CPR is the emergency procedure that uses chest compressions to restart a heart. AEDs, if available, can deliver additional assistance, analyzing a victim's heart rhythm and delivering an electrical shock if necessary.

Too often, people near a victim don't know how to do CPR, how to use an AED or even where this potentially lifesaving device is kept if one is available. Just 45.7% of those who go into sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital get bystander CPR before first responders are on the scene, an AHA publication warns.

The crucial minutes that pass while waiting for emergency medical assistance can be the difference between life and death. That's why increasing the percentage of people who are trained to respond is so important.

It's not difficult to get the training and stay up-to-date with it, with that last step critical to have the confidence to deploy this knowledge in an emergency.

Getting certified by an organization like the American Red Cross can often be accomplished within hours. For example, an editorial writer recently refreshed her emergency assistance training in a course that covered adult and pediatric first aid, CPR and AED use. The in-person class at a metro Red Cross location began at 9 a.m. and was completed by 2 p.m.

Employers have a key role to play in boosting training. Company policies that provide paid time off to take courses would be beneficial, as would financial assistance to cover the cost.

A number of organizations also provide on-site training at the workplace. It's not hard to see how this conscientious step could save lives. Another consideration for employers: ensuring there's an AED in a clearly marked location on-site if there isn't one already.

"The average age for sudden cardiac arrest is 60, but anyone can experience it, including children and people in their 30s and 40s who have no sign of heart disease," according to Tufts Medicine MelroseWakefield Hospital.