ROANOKE – More than 350,000 people suffer from cardiac arrest every year in the United States. When it comes to surviving a sudden cardiac attack, those first few seconds are vital.
Dr. Jack Perkins with Carilion Roanoke Memorial, says that only 10 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital will survive. The likelihood of someone surviving drastically increases if CPR is performed or a defibrillator is used in those first few minutes.
His foundation, Compress & Shock, is working to educate more people on the proper techniques for both of those life-saving measures.
"Those skills are very simple in terms of learning how to do quality chest compressions and learning how to sue a defibrillator," says Perkins. "It's very, very easy and you never know. Anybody, anywhere anytime, you can save a life."
On May 13, a series of eight free education events will take place across the Roanoke and New River Valleys. For more information and how to sign up, click here.