What is Restart a Heart Day?

October 16th is Restart a Heart Day, dedicated to raising awareness around cardiac arrest and supporting people to learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

In the UK around 60,000 people a year suffer a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), currently 90-95% of people who suffer an SCA will die. The only way this figure can be improved is by widespread education on CPR and the use of defibrillators.

What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest refers to the sudden ceasing of an effective heartbeat rhythm. SCA strikes at any time without warning and sadly, no one is immune regardless of gender, age, fitness level, ethnicity or geography. 90-95% of people who suffer from SCA will die.

Famous cases of SCA include footballers Christian Eriksen and Fabrice Muamba; both of whom suffered a cardiac arrest in their 20s as athletes of the highest level.

What is CPR?

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR, is the act of ensuring that oxygenated blood is pumped around the body’s vital organs following a cardiac arrest. Usually a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths; CPR is absolutely vital in buying a casualty time before a defibrillator can be used.

Every minute someone is in cardiac arrest without CPR and a defibrillator causes their chances of survival to drop by around 10%.

What is an AED and can anyone use one?

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable device designed to be able to be used by anyone. The job of a defibrillator is to deliver a shock to someone in cardiac arrest to restore a normal heart rhythm.

The shock actually stops the heart when it is in a rhythm that cannot support life e.g. ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.The body then generates an electrical impulse to restart a normal rhythm.

AEDs can be used by anyone and are simple to use, they also guide users through a step-by-step explanation on how the device is to be used.

Why mark Restart a Heart Day?

The need to mark Restart a Heart Day each year is underpinned by the fact that almost 100,000 people die due to Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) each year. Skills such as CPR and use of an AED can buy vital time and save a life in the event of a cardiac arrest.

Events are often carried out on Restart a Heart Day to educate people on Sudden Cardiac Arrest, giving CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

Imperative Training’s Mission

Along with our partners at defibshop, our mission is to make sure that everyone has the confidence, knowledge and equipment to act decisively if someone around them suffers a cardiac arrest.

We do this on Restart a Heart Day (October 16) by setting up a stand at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, alongside North West Ambulance Service and demonstrating to the public how to correctly perform CPR and use an AED.

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