Event highlights importance of CPR and AED Training
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, with Cook County Commissioner Maggie
Trevor, discussing the importance of CPR Training. PHOTO BY TIA CAROL JONES.
Miller has long been a proponent of improving health outcomes, especially as it relates to cardiovascular disease. “Knowing CPR and AED Training is very important in saving lives, when someone experiences a cardiac event,” Miller said. According to the American Heart Association, the 2021 US data stated the majority of adult Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA) occur at a home or residence (73.4%). Public settings (16.3%) and nursing homes (10.3%) were the second and third most common locations of adult OHCA.
The website also stated, according to the 2021 US data for adult OHCA only, survival to hospital discharge was 9.1% for all EMS-treated non-traumatic OHCA cardiac arrests. Bystander witnessed adult cardiac arrests had a 13.3% survival to hospital discharge and 9-1-1 responder witnessed cardiac arrests had a 15.9% survival to hospital discharge.
Miller said that cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in Cook County, with 10,259 deaths in 2021, and of that 4,974 were in the city of Chicago, and 5,285 were in Suburban Cook County. The first legislation Miller introduced when she became a Cook County Commissioner in 2019 was the creation of a County-wide hands-on CPR Training and AED Awareness campaign. In 2021, Miller introduced legislation that created a virtual awareness and training campaign.
“We were able to affect hundreds of County officials and department heads and employees and they received training as a result of our efforts,” Miller said. The legislation was prompted because the majority of cardiac arrest incidents happen in public settings.
Miller highlighted that African Americans and Hispanics are 30-50% less likely to have CPR performed if they suffer an incident; and women are less likely to receive bystander CPR because of the fear accusations of inappropriate touching, sexual assault or injuring a person.
Michael K. Lall, President and COO of AED Professionals, said Automated External Defibrillators, in conjunction with high quality CPR can save lives. AED Professional’s goal is to promote public awareness, acceptance and implementation of AED programs across Cook County, the State of Illinois and the United States.
Lall said that in 2003, roughly 5% of out of hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims survived. In 2021, the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival showed that 9.1% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims survived. “Our goal should be increasing survival every year by 5% until we can’t get any higher,” Lall said. Lall added the Automated External Defibrillator is designed to be easy-to-use. It has audio and sometimes pictures to give step-by-step directions on how to use it to save the life of a sudden cardiac arrest victim.
Derrick Cabrera, of the American Heart Association, said in the United States, each year more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur out-of-hospitals, and of those 20% of those occur in public places. He said the work Miller was doing to create awareness and educate people on the importance of CPR Training and AEDs is important. “Bystander CPR and the use of AED can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival,” Cabrera said.
For more information about Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, visit https://www.cookcountyil.gov/all-people/donna-miller. For more information about the American Heart Association, visit www.heart.org.
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