(American Heart Association) — Witnessing Bills player Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during the Buffalo Bills – Cincinnati Bengals Monday Night Football game on January 2, inspired many around the country and the world to seek out CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) education and related resources.
The American Heart Association is the global source of the official resuscitation science and education guidelines to help ensure the highest quality of care and improve outcomes.
Guideline-directed educational content was taught to about 22 million people around the world last year. The Association’s website and educational resources have experienced the following online activity since Monday evening, January 2nd.
• 620% increase in pageviews to hands-only CPR content pages, which includes a hands-only video and resources;
• Significant increase in web traffic to cpr.heart.org. 66% increase over average Tuesday/Wed/Thursday;
– This represents an additional 57,600 additional people visiting cpr.heart.org this week (Tues/Wed/Thurs);
• 145% increase in pageviews to What is CPR page, which includes definition, stats, and AED information; and
• 113% increase in pageviews to our CPR Course Catalog page – where visitors can learn more about what CPR course is right for them!
Volunteer and staff experts are available to discuss the mechanics of CPR, provide demonstrations for both CPR delivery and AED use.
Hamlin’s condition after tackling the Bengals wide receiver brought attention to the concept of cardiac arrest — an electrical problem in which the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating. This condition contrasts the circulatory problem involved in a heart attack in which blood flow is blocked to the heart.
Why CPR?
When a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR and defibrillation from someone nearby. According to the American Heart Association, about 90% of people who suffer cardiac arrests outside of a hospital die. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. Yet, bystanders only perform CPR 46% of the time.
While medical staff on site rushed to Hamlin on the field, for the general public the two steps of Hands-Only CPR are to call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest until the person begins breathing on their own or emergency medical services arrive. Use a familiar song to help you keep up the pace of 100-120 beats per minute – Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees or Crazy in Love by Beyonce can be found on the Association’s Don’t Drop the Beat playlist. Watch our Hands-Only CPR instructional video in English, Spanish and/or Mandarin.
