Happy 50th Birthday, CPR!

Since it was developed in September of 1960, CPR has been known as the best way to resuscitate someone who is suffering cardiac arrest. In honor of its 50th birthday, we thought we'd share some CPR facts!

• It was a major improvemement. Before CPR came along, people attempted resuscitation by lifting a person's arms above his head to ease circulation or using fireplace bellows to force air into the lungs, among other less pleasant methods such as pulling the tongue forcefully and rhythmically.
• It buys time. CPR gets the system started while waiting for a defibrillator, which improves a person's chance of recovery. Research has shown that a person's chance of survival falls between 7 and 10 percent for every minute without CPR.
• It isn't used enough. Only 31 percent of people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital receive CPR from a bystander.
• It's groovy. The American Heart Association's hands-only CPR technique requires pushing hard and fast in the center of someone's chest at the rate of 100 compressions per minute, which matches the beat of "Stayin' Alive," "Hey Mama," "Dancing Queen" and "Hips Don't Lie," among other songs.

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