Although CPR and first aid certification are important no matter where you live, Arizonans high drowning rate and growing elderly population are an extra incentive to learn how to save lives.  In Arizona, CPR and first aid training are more critical than in some other states due to the high rate of water-related injuries and death as well as a large elderly population. 

 In Arizona, drowning is the number one cause of unintentional injury death of children from one to four years old.  Most of these deaths occur between April and August, when outdoor activity is at its peak.  The majority of victims are children up to 12 years-old and two out of three drowning take place in backyard spas and pools while the adult caregiver thought the child was indoors.  By completing Arizona CPR and first aid training, you can give a child an increased chance of complete recovery from a drowning event.

 By the year 2020, studies show that more than 1 in 4 people in Arizona will be over age 60.  According to the US Census Bureau, over the last decade those Arizonans over age 85 increased at 82% – faster than any other age group.  And this growth trend is expected to continue, with the over-65 age group quadrupling by 2030. Arizona has long been seen as a great “snowbird” state, with thousands of seniors flocking here each winter.  This aging and elderly population is known to suffer a higher rate of cardiac arrest and other heart ailments for which CPR could be the difference between life and death.  This is yet another reason why Arizona CPR and first aid certification is so important.

Bystander CPR, provided immediately following sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival. Unfortunately, less than one-third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. You can change this sad statistic when you complete CPR and first aid training.

When it comes to CPR and first aid certification, there are no age minimums or maximums. All that’s required to become certified is the physical strength to actually perform the required tasks. In fact, studies have shown that young children – even as young as 9 years old – can learn and retain CPR skills. The first step to getting certified is to find a CPR and first aid training course in your local area and get enrolled. The next step is to actually attend. Then, you’ll be ready to go out and help a family member or a bystander in need.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) was developed in the 1960s and was said to be invented by James Elam and Peter Safar. Leonard Cobb held the world’s first mass citizen CPR training – called Medic 2 – in Seattle, Washington in 1972. He went on to help train more than 100,000 people the first two years of the programs. These days, CPR and first aid certification training has changed some from the old days. The new methodology recommends continuous chest compressions instead of a combination of breaths and compressions. Not only is this method easier, but it also seems to be increasing the cardiac arrest survival rate.

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