Health Connections: CPR and AED Awareness Week

Grand Forks, N.D. — We’re in the midst of summer , and with hot and severe weather, plus an increased level of outdoor exercise, the risk of heart attacks for people with undiagnosed heart problems is real.

That’s why this is CPR and AED Awareness Week, and the American Heart Association wants your participation.

They say you can start teaching children as young as 5 the basics of CPR.

While they probably will not be strong enough to perform CPR on an adult having a heart attack, they can stand by and explain how it’s done for someone who is strong enough.

AHA officials also say anyone can use an AED, since the device will give you instructions once you activate it.

And they say the hardest part of using an AED on someone is knowing where in the building to find it.

The AHA’s Jessica Lundgren joined the Morning Show to talk about why kids as young as elementary school can be at risk, and why minutes are critical in locating an AED and getting a cardiac patient the help they need.

For more information:

https://www.heart.org/en/affiliates/north-dakota