Dominican's Save A Friend Campaign
They're something that most of us think about, hear about or unfortunately experience either directly or indirectly. They come on quickly and if unchecked do irreparable damage in literally a matter of minutes. Were talking about heart attacks and strokes, of course. Paramedic Scott Vahradian joined us today as part of Dominican's "Save A Friend" outreach campaign.
Save A Friend was created to "improve bystander cardiac care and stroke recognition."
Scott shared with us some of the statistics associated with these two killers. 1.2 million Americans suffered heart attacks in 2007 and heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women.
Lives can be saved by the quick action of bystanders. You don't have to be a hero and you don't have to be highly trained to save a life. Keep these simple steps in mind and you may truly make someone's day:
- Know the symptoms. Heart Attack (sudden shortness of breath, chest pressure, upper body discomfort, dizziness, abrupt unexplained weakness) & Stroke (numbness, problems with speech, loss of vision in one eye, sudden severe headache, dizziness).
- Don't stall - make the call to 9-1-1.
- Never isolate yourself or wait out the signs and symptoms - call 9-1-1.
- Learn CPR. Skip the mouth-to-mouth if you're not comfortable with it. Chest compression is sufficient and critical.
- Be willing to use defibrillators. They're commonly available in public places and easy to use.
- Take care of yourself!