Did you know that you have the power to save a life using nothing more than your own two hands?
That’s right — you don’t need to spend years in medical school or invest in expensive equipment. All you need is a willingness to learn basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation, better known as CPR.
If you’re looking for free CPR classes and study guides, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find out how you can learn the essential lifesaving techniques you can use to save a stranger, a colleague, or even a loved one. We’ve brought together the best free CPR classes online here to help connect caring people like you with free CPR certification and training.
What Exactly Is CPR?
Since you’ve been searching for free CPR classes online, chances are you already have a pretty good idea about what CPR is. You may have been inspired to look into free CPR classes after hearing about someone who was saved by a bystander who knew CPR. Maybe you want to pursue free CPR certification because you know firsthand what it’s like to lose someone to a heart attack.
No matter what motivates you to learn CPR, knowing a bit about the history of the technique and how it developed can help you become a better first responder in the event of an emergency.
CPR can be traced back hundreds of years to Europe, where mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was used on drowning victims as early as the mid-1700s. It took another 150 years for the use of chest compressions to gain widespread acceptance and by the early 1900s, CPR was being performed using a combination of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing.
By 1958, the United States Army had adopted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as a way to revive unresponsive casualties, and by 1960, CPR was developed. Physicians across the country began training in what was commonly known as “closed-chest” cardiac massage. By 1972, concerned citizens could enroll in free CPR classes, although the majority of people who pursued free CPR certification continued to be doctors, nurses, and first responders.
What’s most interesting is the fact that modern CPR as we know it today is a relatively new technique that has quickly proven to be a powerful tool that virtually anyone can use. While medical professionals initially thought that only licensed doctors should perform chest compressions on a heart attack victim, research quickly dispelled any concerns related to citizen responders. This is especially true when non-medical professionals complete free CPR classes online to learn the proper techniques needed to use CPR since an untrained person can, in fact, cause serious injury to a victim.
Facts About Cardiac Arrest
According to the American Heart Association, each year more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur among Americans who are somewhere other than a hospital. This means that thousands of men, women, and children suffer from a heart attack at home, at work, while out running errands, or during any other regular activity that you can think of.
Why? Because many people either don’t know the warning signs of an impending cardiac arrest, or they simply ignore the signs. After all, heart attacks can often mimic many other common health concerns, and like most all kinds of medical events, most people think that a heart attack can’t happen to them.
Another reason why the majority of cardiac arrests happen away from hospitals is that cardiac arrests are often caused by a traumatic event, such as a car crash. In these situations, seconds count when it comes to making difference between whether a person survives or succumbs to their injuries.
Each year close to half a million Americans die from a cardiac arrest, and worldwide, cardiac arrest claims more lives than car crashes, HIV/AIDS, gun violence, and breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer put together.
Be Part Of The Solution By Enrolling In Free CPR Classes
While these statistics might seem grim, the good news is that we can all play a part in improving survival rates for cardiac arrests here in the United States. Research has shown that close to half of all cardiac arrest victims who receive CPR from a bystander outside of a hospital setting are able to survive. That’s four times the survival rate of heart attack victims who do not get CPR.
Just think: by enrolling in free CPR classes online, you can increase the odds that someone will survive a heart attack by 40 percent! Those are powerful numbers, especially when you consider the otherwise grim survival rate among victims who don’t get the help they need.
CPR Saves Lives At Home
If the thought of performing CPR on a perfect stranger makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, you’re not alone. Most people question whether or not they’ll be able to put their free CPR classes to good use, especially if there’s a situation that happens in public.
The important thing to recognize is that the vast majority of cardiac arrests actually happen inside the home. In fact, close to 90 percent of victims who experience a sudden disruption to their heart that causes their heart to stop beating have this event occur while they’re in their own home or the home of a family member, neighbor, or friend.
That means that by pursuing free CPR certification, you’ll get the skills, knowledge, and confidence you need to save a life — and the odds are good that the person you save will be your spouse, another family member, or someone else whom you know and love.
Make Your Community A Safer Place By Taking Free CPR Classes
While we all know to dial 911 in an emergency, if you’ve ever been in a position to call on our first responders, you understand that the reality of response times is nothing like what you see on TV. Depending on where you are, weather conditions, and how busy your police, fire, and ambulance service are at the very moment you call 911, you could be waiting longer than you’d expect for help to arrive.
By taking free CPR classes online, you can learn how to respond to emergencies in your own community, because when it comes to saving a life, seconds count. Just imagine how you’d feel if you could be that person who steps up, takes control, and knows exactly what to do when someone suddenly collapses at work, stops breathing at the ball game, or is pulled out of a pool unresponsive. Remember, not all heroes wear capes.
Why Free CPR Classes Online Simply Make Sense
Before online CPR classes were developed, learning how to perform CPR used to be expensive and time-consuming, which is why the vast majority of Americans simply didn’t know how to respond effectively to a cardiac arrest. Unless you happen to work in the medical field, be involved in a service organization that sponsors CPR classes, or have taken the time to invest your own money into CPR classes, you likely haven’t had the chance to learn the latest in CPR techniques.
Thankfully, there are now a number of options available for anyone who wants to pursue free CPR certification. All you need is an internet-connected device and a genuine desire to want to help. Enrolling in free CPR classes online means you can learn at your own pace. There’s no need to try to fit CPR classes in on the weekend or to take time off work.
And because most free CPR classes online include lots of videos, these classes are perfect for anyone who hates being stuck in a classroom for hours on end. You can literally learn how to do CPR while you’re riding the train to work, waiting to pick your kids up after school, or relaxing in the comfort of your favorite recliner. Instead of spending your time online mindlessly surfing the web and watching silly cat videos, why not invest some energy into learning this lifesaving skill? We really can’t think of a better way to spend a few hours of spare time, can you?
You CAN Make A Difference
Stop wondering whether you can be an everyday hero, and start your search for free CPR classes right now. While the odds are good that you may never have to actually use the life-saving skills you’ll learn by taking free CPR classes online, one thing you know for sure is this: you’ll have the confidence that comes with knowing that when an emergency strikes, you’ll know exactly what to do.
Enrolling in free CPR classes online is easy. Here at CPR Heart Center, you’ll find all the resources you need, whether this is the first time you’ve looked into CPR training, you want to freshen up your skills, or you’re searching for free CPR certification to add to your resume. We have everything you need to transform yourself from a bystander to an active first responder who has the knowledge and skills needed to save a life.
