Long before Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field the American Heart Association had already chosen “Be the Beat” as the theme for this heart month to focus on teaching more people hands-only CPR. But Hamlin’s high-profile rescue has now inspired people to learn his skills in a very big way.
Three days following Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football, the American Heart Association saw a 620% increase in pageviews to their hands-only CPR pages, and interest has remained high.
Executive Director of the southeastern Michigan American Heart Association Kristin Hurley said the response to Hamlin’s emergency is a critical reminder for everyone about the importance of knowing CPR and having AEDS.
“I’m looking now when I’m in the mall. Where is the AED? You know? When I’m in the school, when I’m at my son’s swim meet -- making sure that you know, we have those resources in our communities and that people are paying attention and have the training that they need,” said Hurley.
Training that gives people the confidence to act.
“Very often the primary reason why someone doesn’t do CPR on someone is because they’re afraid, you know, they’re afraid that they’re going to hurt someone, that they maybe don’t know how to do it perfectly and what I always say to that is you know some CPR is better than no CPR.,” said Hurley.
Remember, you are most likely to be called to perform CPR on a loved one.
As we saw with Hamlin, that chain of survival is essential and you don’t want to be the weak link in that chain.
Learn here -- CPR training resource guide: Why it’s important, how it works, how to get trained