As a result of recent events with Damar Hamlin, people around the world, including myself, have realized how important CPR really is. As of July 1, 2022, Paul Martin stated, “Nearly 45 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims survived when bystander CPR was administered.” This just shows how important performing CPR right away to a stranger or a relative saves lives.

Hamlin, a football player for the Buffalo Bills, got firsthand on getting performed CPR on himself. January 2, 2022 was a hard day for many because, during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills, Hamlin was playing defense, but when he tackled the Bengals wide receiver, Tee Higgins, Hamlin collapsed as soon as he attempted to stand. He went into cardiac arrest, and once everyone realized that he was down, CPR was performed immediately to get his heart to start pumping again.

In the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, CPR can double or even triple the chances of someone surviving, according to the American Heart Association. This is why many people should start becoming CPR certified, so they don’t doubt hurting the victim and helping those in need.

Because of my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I have become CPR certified, but many at Niles West were not, or still are not CPR certified due to COVID. Many upper-classmen have faced this problem because their health course was cut short. CPR is so crucial, even if you think you might not need to perform it, it is better to be safe than sorry.

CPR often needs to be performed in places where medical professionals are not available. In a split second, someone’s heart can stop, and you being there and being confident in performing CPR is key. So many people don’t realize that you may need to perform CPR on a family member, or a friend, or even to just be a good Samaritan. The American heart association rewards civilians who perform CPR on a bystander, to reward them for being prepared to perform CPR.

CPR is very important and I think many people should take a class for it. I am grateful that I was able to become CPR certified because of my gym class. I cannot stress enough how any minute or even second in an emergency is time ticking away that could be helped save a person, but you don’t know CPR. CPR does more good than harm, it is so easy to learn and it is always good to help someone in need.