CPR Training at Elkridge Library

A handful of people turned out to the Elkridge library Monday night for a free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training.

The American Heart Association recommends hands-only CPR for use on teens and adults who have collapsed and become unreponsive. The American Heart Association still recommends mouth-to-mouth CPR for infants and young children, but in 2008, the association said bystanders should administer hands-only CPR to teens and adults.

Cardiac arrest is the most common cause of death in the United States, and using CPR can help keep people alive, says the American Heart Association.

People can keep a distressed person's blood flowing to that person's heart manually by doing compressions with their hands.

According to Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, Howard County is a leader in administrating CPR, with a 40 percent survival rate in instances when a person is seen collapsing, a bystander performs CPR and emergency personnel take over.

During the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services instruction in Elkridge, CPR Specialist Bradley Tanner emphasized the three "C"s of CPR: check to make sure someone is breathing normally, call 911 and begin compressions at a rate of 100 compressions per minute.

Other trainings will be offered as part of National Preparedness Month:

• 4:30–5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, at The Y of Central Maryland in Ellicott City
• 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, at North Laurel Community Center