Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about those self improvement resolutions many of us make at this time of year. There’s one resolution you can make to improve yourself that will primarily benefit other people: You can learn CPR.
Dr. Paul Pepe, chairman of emergency medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says fewer than 25 percent of Americans know how to perform CPR. That’s important because brain damage can occur within four minutes of a heart attack, and emergency responders can seldom get there that fast. Bystanders trained in CPR can make a big difference.
You can get information on learning CPR from the American Heart Association. For even more of an impact on your community, put together a training session for your office, church, school or neighborhood. Learning this new skill could help you save a life.
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December 2006
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