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Madrid’s civil protection trains hundreds of citizens to do CPR
Madrid civil protection authority SAMUR trained hundreds of citizens to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the occasion of World Restart a Heart Day on 16 October. The authority trains roughly 30,000 citizens annually to revive people with heart failure as part of its first responders programme, stressing the importance of helping citizens to notice and react to cardiac arrest.
The training took place at the Callao Square at the heart of Madrid, with Madrid City Council spokesperson Inmaculada Sanz attending. She stressed the importance of “reinforcing this crucial link in the ‘chain of life,’ which is that of the citizens who witness a cardiorespiratory arrest and know how to act.”
Sanz added that she is proud most Madrilenians who call emergency services to report heart failure start cardiac massage when instructed by dispatchers. She reminded that the first thing to do when noticing cardiac arrest is to alert emergency services, after which witnesses should start resuscitation to help victims until medics arrive. Sanz stressed that the first few minutes are crucial, which is why it is important to train citizens to respond.
In the city, headed by Mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida, survival rate in cardiac arrest cases that were not caused by underlying conditions or injuries stands at 21%. The city pointed out in a press release that SAMUR treated approximately 3,000 people for cardiac arrest in the last ten years, nearly one person each day. SAMUR, which was launched in 1992, previously introduced an online training platform to train more citizens to respond to heart failure.
(Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Madrid)
