Cardiac Emergency Drill Week

As a part of American Heart Month, which is celebrated during February, Michigan schools are encouraged to use this week for cardiac emergency drills.

The schools are asked to inform students about the “chain of survival” which is made up of five basic principles that teach students how to best react when a cardiac emergency takes place. The chain of survival includes how to recognize a cardiac arrest early, and call 911. Next comes rapid bystander response, which teaches students to perform hands–only CPR on a student or teacher who has collapsed in an out of hospital setting.

Using CPR within one minute and an automated external defibrillator within three to five minutes of a victim’s collapse is essential for increasing their chances of survival.

This push for drills in schools comes in tandem with Governor Snyder’s decision in December of 2016 to legally require CPR/automated external defibrillator instruction in schools across Michigan.

Every year, approximately 326,000 people in the U.S. fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest at home or in public locations such as schools, with only ten percent surviving. Prompt delivery of CPR and defibrillation of a victim’s heart can double or triple the person’s chance of surviving.