Stayin'Alive

The second I saw this article, the first thing that came into my mind was Ms. Comeau singing "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees while her wellness class practiced chest compressions. Thinking back to our CPR training, I am so grateful that Ms. Comeau offered her skills and training to us. Thank you Ms. Comeau! Because cardiac arrest is so serious and can end in a fatality, everyone is stepping up in an effort to become educated and certified in CPR. This year, for the first time ever, the Boston Marathon is offering CPR classes for runners and family members. Dr. Aaron Baggish is the associate director of the cardiovascular performance program at Mass. General. He said, "teaching basic chest compressions to marathon participants and race observers -- a form of CPR than doesn’t involve mouth-to-mouth resuscitation -- might lead to fewer deaths in the future" (Kotz 1). He also added that “The number one predictor of survival of cardiac arrest during a race was whether a runner had access to bystander CPR" (Kotz 1). The training session is going to be offered for free by the Boston Athletic Association (BAA). Although there are 28 medical tents throughout the race course, including two at the finish line, the BAA is hoping to be able to extend help through this program. Executive Director Tom Grillk said they are hoping to “bridge the gap between racers and various trained medical professionals" (Kotz 1). The American Red Cross and American Heart Association are teaming up to teach the CPR course. I think this is a great idea because as Dr. Erika Feller of the University of Maryland Medical Center said, “In these situations, minutes really count" (Kotz 1).

Author Deborah Kotz appears to be in agreement with the BAA about the CPR training. She wrote very positively about the training sessions to prove she thinks it is a great idea. Kotz used logos to persuade her audience to agree with the BAA. She included many numbers and statistics about deaths related to cardiac arrest at the Boston Marathon and when referring to the amount of people who need CPR or medical attention at the race. She also used pathos when she interviewed runners who went into cardiac arrest at the Boston Marathon and were able to recover, thanks to someone who was CPR certified. CPR is such a great skill to have; it is easy to learn and hard to forget. Hopefully this new step will be very helpful at the Marathon this April!

Boston Marathon to Offer CPR Training After Study Finds It Could Have Been Prevented in Past Races by Deborah Kotz

http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/2012/01/boston-marathon-offer-cpr-training-after-study-finds-could-have-prevented-deaths-past-races/jgcaVGPqqBAEiqxVzW1DZK/index.html