Category: CPR/AED

The use of electricity in medicine for various purposes goes back as far as the late 1700s. However, because of the lack of scientific understanding of germ theory and other aspects of modern medicine, these early approaches to electricity as a treatment were largely ineffective until doctors and researchers gained a better understanding of the human body. Today, after over 150 years of advancing medical knowledge and electromechanical devices, we utilize electricity in a range of highly effective, well-tested treatments. Internal devices like pacemakers, patient monitors, and even digital thermometers all use electricity to provide reliable healthcare solutions.

CPR/AED Classes Using Electricity

One of the most essential uses of electricity as a life saver, and one of the oldest, is for defibrillation. Defibrillators function by applying a shock to a patient to reset an abnormal heart rhythm or restart a stopped heart. In cases of cardiac arrest and heart attack, or when other causes of arrhythmia occur, defibrillation is a critical treatment, both in hospitals and other public spaces. For up-to-date courses on the use of defibrillators and other CPR and first aid skills, you can find comprehensive courses for certification through CPR4LIFE USA. We offer CPR/AED classes in Minnesota, including blended learning and healthcare provider courses.

CPR/AED Classes

The modern systems you’ll learn through our CPR/AED classes are designed for easy use and portability, making them an ideal choice for installation in public spaces. Access to these public AEDs with voice-guided operation can increase survival rates by a significant percentage, even compared to chest compressions alone.

First Defibrillators

The first defibrillators used in the field on human patients weren’t implemented until around 1947 to 1950.

1947: During an open-heart surgery, manual heart massage failed to correct the ventricular fibrillation of 14-year-old Richard Heyard. Dr. Claude Beck applied four 110-volt shocks to the patient’s heart, restoring its rhythm and saving his life.

1957–1961: Dr. William Kouwenhoven finished the first portable, closed-heart defibrillator. It weighed 250 pounds and would safely apply 480-volt shocks to an adult heart. By 1961, Kouwenhoven and his team had developed a much more portable 45-lb version.

1965–1968: Dr. Frank Pantridge developed an ambulance-carried defibrillator in 1965 that weighed around 150 lbs. and was powered through car batteries. By 1968, he had improved his designs to create what’s considered the first portable AED. It weighed around 7 pounds and used a small NASA-designed capacitor for power.

1978–Present: Over the next 50 years, the portable AED became more efficient and more available to the public. The first AED that was available on the commercial market and that laypeople could use was the “Heart-Aid” design. Most devices today weigh under 3 lbs, assess heart rhythms, and coach operators through the steps of safely applying a shock.

Summary

To learn more about the great value of the modern AED and how to provide other lifesaving treatments, contact CPR4LIFE USA at (507) 369-6422 or info@cpr4lifeusa.com. Check out available CPR/AED classes in Minnesota today.

As summer draws to a close in the Minneapolis region, thousands of kids begin to head back to public and private schools. Along with the traditional educational classes, schools generally provide added activities like sports, art, music, theater, and other extracurricular pursuits. All these leave children with wonderful memories, but because student safety is entrusted to teachers and coaches, it’s important that those staff members are prepared to handle emergency situations with CPR certification. That certification will give school staff the skills they need to address everything from minor injuries to full emergencies. If you are in need of CPR/AED classes in Minneapolis to prepare your school staff for the upcoming school year, CPR4LIFE USA has flexible scheduling for our courses, including blended learning and onsite training.

CPR/AED classes

The various school curriculums and activities bring kids together, but with these endeavors comes the risk of light injury or other conditions that require first aid. In some cases, choking or allergic reactions might require immediate action. The worst-case scenario, where kids or adults need CPR/AED emergency treatment, can also happen at school.

CPR/AED classes and Certification Important

These health risks are all possibilities that make CPR/AED classes and certification important for all school staff. Some details about potential scenarios that could require healthcare or emergency action include:

• Light first aid: Kids are often injuring themselves. Minor injuries like paper cuts, sunburn, skinned knees, and splinters certainly aren’t life-threatening, but CPR certification will help prepare your staff to treat these with light first aid to prevent infection.
• Emergency first aid: In many cases, kids may experience a severe allergic reaction. Children with extreme allergies may carry an EpiPen that school staffers will have to know how to administer. Children with asthma who carry inhalers may also need help with treatment during an attack. More severe injuries can also be treated with immediate care, including cuts, abrasions, burns, sprains, and even broken bones.
• Exposure and exhaustion: Some school and sporting activities can, in extreme conditions, lead to cases of exposure and exhaustion. CPR certification teaches staff members to recognize and treat symptoms of heat exhaustion, sunstroke, dehydration, and even hypothermia.
• Choking: The Heimlich maneuver is still taught in AHA and Red Cross CPR courses. This technique is highly effective for children and adults experiencing choking. Especially for children, choking is not an uncommon occurrence.
• CPR/AED: In most emergency situations, your staff may need to perform CPR/AED treatment on a student or other staff member. CPR treatment increases a patient’s survival by ten times compared to simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting.

Summary

To fully prepare your school staff members for the upcoming school year, get them CPR certified today. Contact CPR4LIFE USA at (507) 369-6422 or info@cpr4lifeusa.com to schedule CPR/AED classes in Minneapolis.

Modern CPR and many other first aid practices are somewhat common knowledge for the majority of adults in the US, even if that knowledge is often informed through television and movies. Although the general function and purpose of CPR are widely known, only around 18% of our national population has current CPR certification. While this low certification rate could be improved, there are surveys that show that around 65% of adults in the US have had CPR training at some point. The basics of hands-only CPR are easy to learn, however, and the application of hands-only CPR can double the chances of survival. If you are in need of courses for certification, CPR4LIFE USA offers multiple options, including blended learning and workplace training. For a complete CPR/AED course in Minneapolis, MN, check out our available classes and join a program today.

CPR/AED

It’s safe to say that despite the lower rates of current certification in the US, most people would be able to perform basic CPR in an emergency. This hasn’t always been the case, of course. The history of CPR is a long one that started as far back as the early 1500s.

1530: The first resuscitation methods using bellows were applied by Swiss doctor Paracelsus.

1732: For the first time in recorded history, Scottish surgeon William Tossach successfully resuscitated a coal miner with mouth-to-mouth breathing.

1775: Danish vet Peter Abildgaard shocked a chicken twice, stopping and then restoring its heart.

1856: London doctor Marshall Hall developed the Hall Method of resuscitation, which involved turning a patient on their side and then back repeatedly to restore breathing.

1891: German surgeon Friedrich Maass first advocated for external chest compressions for resuscitation in addition to ventilation.

1924: The American Heart Association is formed.

1947: The first successful use of an electric defibrillator on a human heart occurred in Cleveland.

More History on CPR

1956: The AHA funds a study that successfully restores rhythm to a quivering heart using an external defibrillator.

1957: Johns Hopkins releases the first portable external defibrillator.

1960: Mouth-to-mouth breathing and chest compressions are combined to become the earliest form of modern CPR.

1966: CPR training standards are universalized in the US through the efforts of the American National Red Cross and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

1972: The first mass CPR training program is launched, and it would go on to train over 100,000 people in the first two years.

1981: 911 dispatchers are trained to provide over-the-phone CPR instruction.

1988: The AHA introduces pediatric courses, pediatric BLS, and pediatric advanced life support to CPR programs.

CPR/AED Course

1990s: AEDs and other defibrillation programs are made accessible in public spaces.

From the early 2000s to today, there have been various updates and adjustments to CPR training standards, but by the 1990s, modern education in a CPR/AED course was largely solidified.

For more information or to sign up for a CPR/AED course in Minneapolis, MN, contact CPR4LIFE USA at (507) 369-6422 or info@cpr4lifeusa.com.

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With the world becoming increasingly mobile, there are many education systems that have transitioned into being fully or partially online. Virtual education has been a huge advantage to many different students and programs, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only does remote learning allow students to complete courses in a way that fits their schedules, some research shows that material retention may be upwards of 25% greater than in-person education. Adjusting CPR/AED training to have both virtual and face-to-face learning offers several benefits and may lead to a greater rate of new and renewed certifications across the country. If you are looking for a CPR/AED course in Minnesota, CPR4LIFE USA offers a comprehensive range of certification options, including general CPR/AED, Healthcare CPR, and Basic Life Support (BLS). Our courses are available for onsite or workplace training as well as a blended learning format that incorporates virtual and in-person aspects of a certification program.

CPR/AED Course in Minnesota

While the in-person aspects of a CPR/AED course are important, such as practicing breathing and compression skills on training manikins, going through the steps of responding to an emergency, and locating and applying an AED, there are multiple parts of a full CPR education program that can easily be applied in a virtual course.

Blended Learning

Blended learning courses through CPR4LIFE USA include virtual material that is sent to registered students within 24 hours of signing up. For First Aid/CPR/AED courses, blended learning material will take about three hours to complete.

Vital Information on CPR/AED Course in Minnesota

Some vital information included in the virtual portion of a blended course includes:

• How to recognize and distinguish between the symptoms of a heart attack, cardiac arrest, and stroke.
• The steps required in an emergency response, such as directions for a bystander to call 911, checking breathing, positioning, pain stimulus checking, compressions, breathing, and AED use.
• Where to find AEDs in a public space.
• General education about what happens to a person experiencing different emergencies, including time frames and the importance of continuing lifesaving CPR until EMTs arrive.
• Adult and child vs. infant CPR guidelines.
• Basic first aid, including how to treat burns, scrapes, cuts, injuries to the head, neck, and back, temperature emergencies like heat exhaustion and hypothermia, and more.
• How an AED works to restore a heartbeat to a regular rhythm and education on different types of arrhythmias.
• When the virtual portion of a First Aid/CPR/AED course is completed, students are tested on their knowledge in preparation for attending the rest of the in-person certification. Blended learning CPR courses are more convenient, offer a higher quality of education and greater consistency in training, and are more flexible than fully in-person certification.

Summary

To learn more about our blended learning CPR/AED course in Southeastern Minnesota, contact CPR4LIFE USA at (507) 369-6422 or info@cpr4lifeusa.com.

When you think of CPR training, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation aspect of the certification often takes center stage. However, there are many components to even the most basic CPR certification training. Standard CPR/AED course for teachers, trainers, childcare providers, and other employees cover first aid, choking emergencies, injuries, medical emergencies like heat stroke, and many other emergency response treatments. Most significantly, AED training is paired with CPR instruction for a complete education on response to cardiac arrest. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are portable devices that analyze the heart’s rhythm and, when needed, provide a defibrillating shock to stop arrhythmia and return the heartbeat to a regular pattern. Today, AEDs are present in almost every workplace, installed in locations where any employee or other person could quickly get access. AED training is a large part of CPR certification, and any American Heart Association (AHA)-approved course will cover the use of AEDs in detail. If you are looking for any level of certification, CPR4LIFE USA offers multiple types of training courses with an experienced CPR instructor in Minnesota.

CPR/AED are Effective

AEDs provide a life-saving electrical shock that defibrillates the heart. This shock stops arrhythmia, an uneven heartbeat rhythm that could lead to stroke or heart failure. The effects of an AED on a patient experiencing a heart attack or cardiac arrest are often more effective than just chest compressions, even when someone trained in CPR is providing treatment. This is because it is more accurate and direct than just CPR alone, although AED treatment should be used in combination with other CPR guidelines. To meet these guidelines you need to take a CPR/AED course.

Time

Another factor that makes an AED more likely to save a life is the time it takes for EMS to arrive. For every minute that someone in cardiac arrest doesn’t receive CPR treatment, their chance of dying increases by 10%. If it takes EMS their average of 4–10 minutes to reach a patient, that means 4–10 minutes of chest compressions and other CPR steps. For CPR providers, chest compressions can get very tiring quickly. That is why a CPR/AED course is an important investment. An AED can eliminate the need for chest compressions if it successfully restarts the heart’s rhythm. AEDs significantly reduce the risk of death when EMS takes an extended time to arrive.

Access

Most businesses have at least one AED located in an easy-to-find location in the building, and they are very easy to use. The newest AED technology can even be used without any CPR certification or training by walking the user through a voice-guided program. Because modern AEDs can be used by anyone, whether they are CPR trained or not, they increase the chances that lifesaving care is given before EMS arrival.

AEDs are a critical component of CPR certification, and your CPR instructor will always cover the use and function of an AED system. If you are in need of a CPR/AED course in Minnesota for certification, contact CPR4LIFE USA today at (507) 369-6422 or info@cpr4lifeusa.com.