Sligo Weekender
Tuesday 1 March 2011
Students taught vital CPR skills
Fourth year IT Sligo students studying public health and health promotion held a Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) awareness day in IT Sligo on Tuesday last, February 22.
Students were told that for every minute that someone does not commence CPR on a collapsed victim their chances of survival decrease by 10 per cent.
With a rise in the number of cardiac arrests nationwide it is imperative the message of basic CPR is spread to all.
The training, which was organised by five Health Promotion students, involved a qualified paramedic representative from the Irish Heart Foundation giving demonstrations in the Institute canteen to students, with a main demonstration on stage at 1.00p.m.
A representative from the organization, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) was also present on the day to answer questions from the staff and students on any issues they had regarding cardiac arrest and SADS. In addition to the demonstrations the organizers also had a trainee defibrillator for students to educate them regarding correct usage should they be faced with such circumstances.