Do you know the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest?
Could you provide the proper aid to someone suffering from either, or use an AED (automated external defibrillator) correctly?
What would you do if your infant stopped breathing?
CPR instructor Darla Miller is the owner of pumpLife CPR Plus, and had that last situation happen to her own newborn infant. She knew exactly what to do, saving her baby’s life.
None of us wants to think we’ll ever be in a position to have to render aid in this type of case, but Miller dispels any apprehension in her monthly American Heart Association authorized CPR, AED and basic first aid 2-hour class at the Pahrump Community Library at 701 East St.
February is American Heart Month, and with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s dramatic on-field cardiac arrest and subsequent resuscitation, the awareness of first-aid techniques to save lives has grown.
Miller says she saw a bump in business after that event.
“Right after that, I got a call from a private airline company in Las Vegas, wanting to certify about 150 of their staff.”
Miller can arrange classes for larger groups or companies too.
Miller teaches with the aid of adult and infant mannequins that provide feedback on proper timing, depth and location of chest compressions, as well as correct breathing techniques. Actual AED use on the mannequins is also taught, in addition to helping a choking victim, applying an Epi Pen (Epinephrine) and how to stop bleeding including properly using a tourniquet.
The class costs $65 and includes a 2-year certification.
“You can take a course for like $10 on the internet, not American Heart [Association] and you don’t actually physically touch a mannequin. When you work with these mannequins they have lights on them, feedback devices, that actually tell you if you are compressing the right way,” Miller said.
Some of Miller’s attendees have had to employ the techniques she teaches to save a life.
John Clausen is a freelance journalist in Pahrump.