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Difference Between CPR and AED Training

July 9, 2018

When a person goes into cardiac arrest, their heart stops beating, and their vital organs don’t receive enough oxygenated blood. Without intervention, that person will lose their life. While CPR and AED are two very different certifications, both can play vital roles in saving a cardiac arrest victim’s life.

What is CPR Training?

CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. During CPR, an individual uses their hands to rapidly compress and release the chest of an unconscious victim. The standard CPR process consists of 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths on a repeated cycle. These rapid compressions act as a manual heartbeat that keeps oxygenated blood pumping to vital organs, while the rescue breaths keep blood the victim’s blood oxygenated. Before performing CPR, call 911 so qualified help can administer life-saving care.

CPR training helps prepare teams and organizations to respond to emergencies by equipping them with the knowledge necessary to recognize cardiac arrest and respond with care that reflects CPR best practices, including proper compression depth and timing.

What is AED Training?

AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator. An AED is a machine that sends an electric shock through a person’s body to try restart their heart.

The major difference between CPR and an AED is that CPR focuses on keeping someone alive until help can arrive, while an AED is capable of restarting a victim’s heart and brain functions after they cease functioning. AED devices can be found in most public places. Once it is turned on, it will walk the rescuer through the process of using the machine, but AED training helps individuals act more decisively and efficiently in situations where every second counts.

Be Prepared to Act with Training from Specialized Health and Safety

CPR may be more widely known, but understanding how to use an AED is just as important in the life saving process. For an organization to be truly prepared to handle an emergency situation, their team should have the skills to use CPR hand-in-hand with an AED.

Specialized Health and Safety offers comprehensive CPR and AED training for individuals, small groups, and larger organizations. Contact us today to learn more about our in-person and blended course offerings.


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