The Silent Crisis: Why Bystander CPR Awareness is More Urgent Than Ever!


Imagine watching a loved one collapse in front of you, their heart suddenly stopping. Now imagine knowing there was something you could've done—something simple, something effective—but you never learned it, or were too afraid to try. This is the silent crisis happening all around us. Every day, lives are lost because bystanders aren’t equipped—or willing—to perform CPR. And since the COVID-19 pandemic, that problem has only grown more severe.

The Decline of Life-Saving Action in a Post-COVID World

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), over 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the U.S. each year. Nearly 90% of them are fatal. But when bystander CPR is administered immediately, survival rates can double or even triple. Yet, in 2023, only about 46% of people who experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest received bystander CPR (AHA, 2023).

Why? The answer is complex, but the fear of infection has played a major role. Since COVID-19, many people have become hesitant to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on strangers. According to a study published by the National Institutes of Health, over 58% of individuals said they would be unwilling to perform CPR on a stranger due to fear of contracting a disease like COVID-19 or the flu (NIH, 2021).

This fear has led to a devastating decrease in CPR attempts, even though bystander CPR today only requires chest compressions, not mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths.

What Is Bystander CPR and Who Can Perform It?

Bystander CPR involves immediate chest compressions delivered by someone witnessing a cardiac arrest, even if they are not a medical professional. It applies to teens and adults who suddenly collapse and are unresponsive and not breathing normally.

Children under puberty age may require a different approach that includes breaths, but for teens and adults, hands-only CPR is the recommended method (CDC, 2023).

So why aren't more people learning this? A large-scale survey from the AHA found that only 1 in 5 adults feel prepared to act in a cardiac emergency, and fewer than 30% have ever received CPR training.

The Stigma of Saving Strangers

Fear doesn’t just stop at disease. There’s also the psychological barrier: "What if it's not someone I know?" According to the University of Washington, people are 3 times more likely to perform CPR on a family member than a stranger (UW Medicine, 2022).

This stigma is costing lives. Think of it this way: everyone is someone’s child, spouse, friend, or parent. If more people were trained and mentally prepared to help anyone in need, thousands more lives could be saved each year.

What You Can Do Right Now

We’re calling on you to help change this narrative. Learning hands-only CPR takes just minutes, and it can mean the difference between life and death. Share this article, take a class, teach your family, and spread the word in your community.

You can also follow our social media pages where we offer free training by simply watching our videos. We regularly update with live CPR performances so you can learn the skill from anywhere. Most importantly, share this with others.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for constant updates—our Patreon page is coming soon! Why not take advantage of learning a life-saving skill and sharing it with others, just by watching and spreading the word?

Our live videos will always have you and your loved ones prepared—for FREE. By simply subscribing to our pages and sharing the information, we can decrease the death rate from cardiac arrest.

Will you be a part of the change and share this article—or will you allow this life-changing information to pass you by and risk being unprepared, like so many others who have sat helplessly while losing a loved one or watching someone else's life slip away?

Let’s break the stigma, fight the fear, and build a culture of action.

Will you be ready when it matters most?

Coming Next:

Did you know women often experience different heart attack symptoms than men—and are far less likely to survive one? In Georgia alone, thousands of women die each year from cardiac events that could have been prevented or treated sooner.

Why is the survival rate for women so much lower—and what signs should you never ignore?

Stay tuned for our next blog: "The Hidden Signs: Women's Heart Attack Symptoms vs Men's"—and why this knowledge could save a life.

Sources:

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