Accidental deaths, such as drowning and choking, are the number one cause of death in kids of every age.
These accidents often result in cardiac arrest — an event that is immediately life threatening without CPR. Every minute that a bystander does not provide CPR for cardiac arrest, the chance of that child surviving drops by 10%. Brain damage starts in 4 minutes without CPR.
In children up to 13 years old, the most common cause of cardiac arrest are undiagnosed birth defects of the heart. That means that kids can be walking around with a subtle heart defect and their parents don’t know about it until cardiac arrest strikes. Sudden cardiac death in the young is under appreciated — 66 young athletes die of cardiac arrest each year.
Cardiac arrest can happen quickly, which is why parents, teachers, and coaches should be prepared and willing to provide basic life support.
Two-thirds of cardiac arrests in young people are witnessed.
If bystander CPR is given, kids are over 3 times as likely to live. Unfortunately, bystanders help only one in three people, probably because 70% of US citizens don’t feel prepared to deliver CPR.