Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey never learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation, known as CPR, an emergency procedure used to maintain blood flow to vital organs and restore normal heart function after sudden cardiac arrest. Ta.

When he was asked by the American Heart Association of Greater Pittsburgh to join 99 others in a mass hands-only CPR event, he quickly accepted the invitation.

He said he wanted to be of some help.

“There’s no shame in not knowing CPR. Shame on you if you don’t want to learn,” Gainey said Feb. 2 with other participants, volunteers and Heart Association staff at the Two Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh. told. Her annual National Wear Red Day raises awareness for women’s heart health.

The Heart Association “goes red” on the first Friday in February, which is also American Heart Month.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for women in the United States. It kills more women than all types of cancer combined.

The idea of ​​having 100 people take a CPR refresher course was a way to commemorate the American Heart Association’s 100th anniversary.

The hands-only course did not include artificial respiration, where one person blows into another person’s mouth.

“I was nervous,” Gainey said. “Often people, especially people in underserved communities, don’t know about this. They don’t have resources where they can learn what to do if someone goes into cardiac arrest. We don’t always have it. I hope this event reaches many people and allows us to heal each other and take care of each other.”

Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation can definitely save lives, said Dr. Sylvia Owusu Ansah, associate professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine and associate chair of the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She was also the EMS Medical Director (Medical Dispatcher MD-22) at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh and led the training.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 EMS-assessed cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals each year in the United States. Cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction of the heart that causes irregular heartbeats and blocks blood flow to the brain, lungs, and other organs.

Saving a life depends on being able to receive CPR quickly from someone nearby.

According to the American Heart Association, about 90% of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital die. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chances of survival.

Owusu-Ansah said the first step is to ensure the safety of you and the person you are helping. Don’t try CPR in the middle of the street, she said.

Call 911 immediately, put the phone on speaker, and free your hands to begin CPR. It often takes several minutes for emergency medical personnel to arrive, and every minute counts.

Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, where blood flow to the heart is cut off. Sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating.

Wearing bright red American Heart Association shirts, the mayor and his wife, Michelle, listened to Owusu-Ansah’s words and began training.

One piece of advice is to play a song in your head while performing hands-on CPR. Songs include “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees, “Fflowers” by Miley Cyrus, “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC, “Cuff It” and “Baby Shark” by Beyoncé.

This will help you maintain a rhythm of movement.

According to the American Heart Association, people are more confident in performing hands-only CPR and more likely to remember the exact heart rate when they train to the beat of a familiar song. . When performing CPR, you must press on the chest at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. This corresponds to the beat of these songs.

Compressions must be applied with a certain amount of pressure and can break ribs or puncture the lung.

“(Broken ribs and punctured lungs) are curable,” Owusu-Ansah said. “You can’t fix a dead brain.”

Some people are hesitant to perform CPR.

They may not know the technique. You may be worried that you will be held responsible if someone dies. According to the American Heart Association, the Good Samaritan Act protects people who perform CPR during cardiac arrest.

If the other person is a woman, there is also the fear of touching her breasts. Data supports that women are less likely to receive CPR from bystanders, primarily because people are afraid to touch them.

According to the American Heart Association, six out of 10 women who suffer cardiac arrest in public die because passersby often feel uncomfortable touching them.

Performing CPR is the same for men and women, Rolando Castro-Boulware, community impact director for the American Heart Association of Greater Pittsburgh, said after the event.

At one time, the two were trained in CPR using a mannequin by local medical professionals.

Owusu-Ansah said it may feel awkward at first, but that’s why education is important.

“We have to change the culture,” Owusu-Ansah said. “You can save a life. And you are not alone. 911 is here.”

Owusu-Ansah said events like large-scale hands-only CPR will help people feel more comfortable performing CPR. She said doing something is better than doing nothing, even if we don’t think we’re doing it right.

“Celebrating our 100th anniversary means that the work we do is meaningful,” Castro Boulware said. “But there is still much work to be done.”

There’s never been a better time to focus on cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, said Dr. Leanna McKibben, chief of staff and vice provost for health science administration at the University of Pittsburgh and chair of the American Heart Association Greater Pittsburgh Board of Directors. She said even though she has had training, it’s always good to take a refresher course.

“There are lifesaving benefits to doing this,” McKibben said. “Imagine yourself in this situation. You would want someone to help you. A little practice will go a long way in alleviating those fears. If you let the public learn this… , which will increase our ability to save lives.”

WPXI’s 4pm news anchor Susan Koeppen, who attended the event, knows this firsthand.

In 2011, she went for a three-mile run on Sunday morning.

She collapsed on the sidewalk. She suddenly went into cardiac arrest. Her friends, with whom she was running, waved and asked for her help. Two medical students stopped and performed CPR on her.

Firefighters arrived within minutes and shocked her heart with an automated external defibrillator (AED). This is a handheld device that, when it detects an abnormal rhythm, delivers an electric shock to her heart through her chest, returning it to normal.

Köppen often talks about her.

“It’s very important to do something,” Koeppen said. “If you do nothing, people will die. It is better to do something than to do nothing. CPR by bystanders can double or even triple the chances of survival. When I collapsed, bystanders performed CPR, and years later they performed CPR on a man in cardiac arrest. We are still alive today. CPR works. . You can save lives with your own hands.”

Owusu-Ansah agrees.

“It could be your mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, daughter,” Owusu-Ansah said. “Everyone’s life is worth saving.”