In honor of Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month, News 12 has partnered with WE R CPR to keep you informed and prepared in case you or a loved one ever faces this kind of crisis. We’ll walk you through what exactly cardiac arrest is, why it could happen, and how you can treat it.

With over 436,000 deaths caused by cardiac arrest every year in the United States alone, News 12 and WE R CPR encourages everyone to learn as much as they can about CPR and the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest.

Learn how to administer CPR at one of WE R CPR’s training classes. Click here to learn more.

What is sudden cardiac arrest?

According to the American Heart Association, “cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function in a person who may or may not have been diagnosed with heart disease.” In other words, the heart suddenly malfunctions and creates irregular heartbeats, or stops beating altogether.

Unable to beat properly, the heart cannot pump blood to the brain, lungs, and other vital organs. The person suffering from cardiac arrest will collapse suddenly, become unresponsive, and will struggle to breathe.

Sudden cardiac arrest will happen very quickly, and often without warning. If a victim of cardiac arrest does not receive CPR immediately, the situation will very likely become fatal.

GET THE FACTS: Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack. A heart attack may lead to cardiac arrest, but they are NOT the same thing. While cardiac arrest happens when the heart malfunctions and stops beating properly, a heart attack occurs when a blocked artery keeps blood from flowing back into the heart. To learn more about the differences between heart attacks and cardiac arrest, click here to view a chart from the American Heart Association.

How can YOU treat cardiac arrest?

If you see someone suffering from cardiac arrest, call 911 and begin CPR immediately. Every minute that goes by without restoring a person’s regular heartbeat, their chances of survival drop by roughly 7%.

If you believe someone is undergoing cardiac arrest, look for these signs:

• The person has suddenly collapsed and is unconscious.
• The person is unresponsive. They don’t react when you call to them or try to wake them up, and they don’t blink, talk, or move.
• They are gasping for air or not breathing at all.
• They have no pulse.

Once you have identified the signs, call 911 and begin CPR. Hands-Only CPR is easy to learn and can be performed by almost any adult or older teen.

BE READY: If you see someone collapse from cardiac arrest and don’t know what to do, call 911 and stay on the line. The EMS dispatcher will be able to talk you through CPR until paramedics arrive.

It is so incredibly important to know and understand the skills that can one day save a person’s life. Check out WE R CPR at wercpr.com to learn more about CPR and where you can find training to become certified.