Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so, what better time to talk about heart health. Importantly, lets explore cardiac emergencies that take place out of the hospital setting, and what you can do to help.

A few weeks ago, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffered cardiac arrest while playing football. Damar Hamlin, a 24 year old professional athlete recently said in a recent interview that he felt fine before the game. During the first quarter, Damar sustained a hit to the chest, fell to the ground, stood up and then fell again. The team trainers and medical staff rushed to his side to evaluate and render aid. Luckily, there was a team of trained professionals on the sideline that knew how to recognize the emergency and administer Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Because Damar received CPR so quickly, he survived.

According to the American Heart Association, in 2020, any-mention sudden cardiac arrest mortality in the US was 436,852. CPR, especially if administered immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. According to 2021 US data for adult Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) only, survival to hospital discharge was 9.1% for all EMS-treated non-traumatic OHCA cardiac arrests.

Imagine, you are out shopping and your spouse complains of chest pain. A few moments later, your spouse starts sweating profusely, falls to the ground and is unconscious. You do not have a team of medical professionals at your disposal, so what can you do to help? A lot, actually. First, don’t panic. The American Heart Association suggests to follow the adult out-of-hospital Chain of Survival  which can improve chances of survival and recovery for victims of cardiac arrest.

Do your loved ones a favor and take a CPR class, learn how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). You may be the one that saves their life!