COLUMBUS, Ohio — Less than a week after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law requiring automatic external defibrillator (AED) devices to be placed in Ohio schools, doctors and cardiac arrest survivors encouraged all Ohioans to learn CPR. 

What You Need To Know

  • About 30 Ohioans experience a cardiac arrest each day and a person’s chance of survival decreases by 10% a minute

  • Ohio Emergency Medical Services and the Ohio Department of Public Safety are calling on more local groups across the state to teach hands-only CPR and empower people to use the training in emergency situations

  • CPR can be performed immediately and should be performed continuously until emergency crews arrive on the scene 

It’s part of the Every Minute Counts campaign launched Monday by Ohio Emergency Medical Services and the Ohio Department of Public Safety calling on more organizations statewide to teach CPR skills and empower people to learn and use the technique.

Dr. Justin Benoit of the University of Cincinnati and chairman of the Ohio Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), said 30 Ohioans every day undergo a sudden cardiac arrest, but only 10% survive.

“It happens to both adults and kids, the sick and the healthy,” Benoit said at an event announcing the life-saving initiative.

He said it’s one of the most time sensitive and devastating acute disease processes in medicine, with a person’s chance of survival decreasing by 10% every minute.

“If witnesses do nothing, that means in ten minutes, it’s over,” he said.

Benoit and other event participants said bystanders need to take action, even if it’s not perfect, during the critical moments before emergency crews arrive.

Something Jason Johnson said he didn’t hesitate to do when Steve Meadows passed out behind the wheel.

“It wasn’t a matter of being scared,” Johnson said, talking about performing hands-only CPR on Meadows. “He’s a friend, he’s a coworker, and doing nothing would have been worse than trying to help.”

If you notice someone collapse or become unresponsive, EMS Coordinator for the Ohio Department of Public Safety Heather Kaufman said to take control of the situation.

“Point to someone and say, ‘You call 911 and get me an AED,’” she said.

She said to perform hands-only CPR until the device and paramedics arrive by placing your thumbs under the person’s armpits with your fingers reaching across their chest. That helps to find the proper position for the compressions.

Using the heel of your hand with your arms locked and one hand on top of the other, she said to start steadily compressing the person’s chest, pressing about two inches down and up to a tempo of about 120 beats per minute.

“You’re actually pressing air into the lungs and circulating oxygen,” she said.

The songs “Baby Shark,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and “Stayin’ Alive” are examples of songs to sing while performing compressions, she said.

AEDs are designed to talk you through any necessary next steps while waiting on first responders.

Learn more about Every Minute Counts on the Ohio Emergency Medical Services website.