Restart a Heart Day

Today Team Member and Medical Equipment Officer Steve James visited Turton High School along with Beth Warburton and Natalie Richmond from NWAS to support the national Restart a Heart day.

The aim is to train high school pupils in the country’s biggest ever CPR training event.

The NWAS page with information about the day sums up the aim of the day:

Cardiac arrest is the most extreme emergency and happens when the heart stops beating in a normal way, preventing blood from pumping around the body. 80% of out of hospital cases happen in the home.

It is different from a heart attack where there is an interruption to the blood supply of the heart and the person is conscious and breathing. Someone who is having a cardiac arrest will suddenly lose consciousness and will stop breathing normally.

A person in cardiac arrest will die within minutes unless they are treated immediately with CPR and defibrillation. The CPR keeps oxygen circulating around the body to prevent damage to the brain and other organs, while a defibrillator gives an electric shock to the heart in an attempt to restore its normal rhythm.

Survival rates for people who have cardiac arrests are dismal with less than one in ten people (8.6%) going on to make a recovery in the UK.

Despite the best efforts of ambulance services and national bodies to lobby the UK government to make CPR training in schools mandatory, it is still not part of the national curriculum. But if CPR skills were taught in schools, survival rates could significantly increase as they have in Scandinavia.

Anyone can attempt CPR, but the lack of training means that people rarely have the confidence to do so. Only 30% of people who witness a cardiac arrest at home or in a public place will attempt CPR.

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team is delighted to support NWAS in this very worthwhile cause. We are keen to help train the local community so if any local groups would be interested in CPR training, they should email steve.james@boltonmrt.org.uk.

Natalie also mentioned to Steve she had required Bolton Mountain Rescues services previously. 12 years ago (Incident 89/2005) the Team rescued Natalie after she had a fractured her arm following a fall from a rope swing. She had landed at the bottom of a ravine requiring our assistance.