Dad saved by his children urges others to learn vital skill with BHF this Heart Month
Scots are leading the way in CPR with 71 per cent having learned the skills to save a life, compared to over half (57 per cent) of respondents across the UK.
New figures released today by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland, show even more – 82 per cent – in the 16-26 age group (Gen Z) know how to perform CPR. Half (50 per cent) of this age group have learned the vital skill in school.
Almost all respondents who have learnt CPR in locations other than school (98 per cent)1 believe it is important that CPR be taught in schools.
The figures have been revealed as the medical research charity calls on the whole nation to learn CPR during Heart Month in February, with the message to help protect the heart of someone you love.
With around 80 per cent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happening in the home, you’re often likely to perform CPR on a loved one.
Despite the success in Scotland, a survey carried out for the BHF by Censuswide, also suggests an alarming number of households in Scotland still don’t have anyone who knows how to perform CPR.
Of those respondents who answered that they hadn’t learnt CPR, just over half (51 per cent) said that no-one in their household had learnt the lifesaving skill.
The survey also found generational differences in CPR awareness in Scotland:
· Gen Z (age 16-26) is best trained in CPR, with 82 per cent having learnt, compared to 75 per cent of Millennials (age 27-42), 67 per cent of the Gen X generation (age 43-58) and 65 per cent of the baby boomer (age 59-77) generation.
· 95 per cent of Scots believe that learning CPR is important1, yet only 49 per cent of respondents could pick the correct first step of CPR – making sure it’s safe to approach and checking for a response from an unconscious person.
There are over 3100 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in Scotland. Tragically, just one in ten people survive, a statistic the BHF Scotland is determined to improve by giving everyone the opportunity to learn CPR.
Performing immediate PR and defibrillation in the event of a cardiac arrest can be the difference between life and death.
The charity’s free and innovative online training tool RevivR can teach CPR and the correct steps of defibrillator use in just 15 minutes. Quick CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.
Learning CPR came second only to budgeting, in a list of important life skills1:
Q: How important, if at all, do you think it is to learn the below life skills?
| Learning to budget | 98% |
| Learning CPR | 95% |
| Learning to disinfect a cut | 94% |
| Learning to do laundry | 92% |
| Learning to use a washing machine | 91% |
| Learning to change a light bulb | 88% |
| Learning to change a tyre | 85% |
| Learning DIY | 81% |
Michael’s story
The Welsh family celebrate Christmas 2023
In the early hours of 2 January last year, Alison Welsh, from Broughty Ferry, Dundee was woken by the sound of husband Michael, 55, making a terrible noise.
“I thought he was snoring but when I turned round, he was purple and staring at me. I screamed for the children, who ran through, we got him off bed and started CPR immediately,” she recalls.
Her son Christopher, now 30, took the lead, beginning CPR, assisted by sister Rachel, 23, and his girlfriend Chloe, 27, who was staying at the house. All three had been members of their university canoe clubs, where they’d learned to do CPR.
“While I was on the phone to the ambulance the three of them just took over,” adds Alison. “They were incredible, taking it in turns when they got tired. Without them, Michael would not be here today. There are genuinely no words to express what my children did to save their dad, and how amazing they are. Every day we wake up thankful that he is here.”
Michael has not had any problems since the episode but now has a defibrillator fitted to monitor his heart rhythm and to deliver a shock if a dangerous, abnormal heart rhythm is detected.
He says: “Learning CPR is a simple activity that can mean the difference between life and death. I was one of the lucky ones, thankfully people were around who knew what they were doing.”
1’Very important’ and ‘Quite important’ answers combined