What is The History Behind CPR?

You may know CPR as being one of the best tools to buy time to help a person live until emergency personnel can arrive to restart the victim’s heart. But this lifesaving technique is actually not a recent invention, as some people may believe. Below is a short history of CPR.

The 18^th and 19^th Centuries

In 1740, the Paris Academy of Sciences recommended the use of artificial respiration to drowning victims and in 1767 the Society for the Recovery of Drowned persons was set up to help people deal with sudden and unexpected death. In the 19^th century, Dr. H. R. Silvester invented a method of artificial respiration called the “Silvester Method”. A victim was laid on his or her back with the arms above their head (to help open the airways) and another person pressed on the victim’s chest to cause him or her to exhale.

The 20^th and 21^st Centuries

In the middle of the 20^th century, the medical community took notice and artificial respiration along with chest compression became key in helping to resuscitate people after cardiac arrest. James Jude, Guy Knickerbocker, James Elam and Peter Safar began teaching their methods of chest compression and artificial respiration and it began to catch on. In 1957 the US Military began advocating the use of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to help unresponsive victims. In 1960, CPR was officially developed and in 1962 a short training video called “The pulse Of Life” was released to the public to help train others. This method was taught for nearly 50 years with little to no modification. However, in 2010, the American Red Cross has developed a technique called “Hands Only CPR” that teaches that chest compressions are as effective in helping to resuscitate victims as are chest compressions and artificial respiration.

Obtaining CPR training in MN may be required by your job or might be a useful skill to have. When you take CPR courses given by HeartCert, you are taking part in a long-standing tradition of helping to save lives.