Sophomores Learn to Save Lives
Anyone visiting Devon Preparatory School can breathe a little easier as the entire sophomore class recently participated in the American Heart Association’s Heart Saver course. All 51 members of the Class of 2012 were taught about the Chain of Survival and the important part they can play in helping victims of “sudden death” survive long enough to receive treatment with advanced techniques.
Hands-on experience, film and lectures were used to teach the signs and signals of heart attack, stroke, and foreign body airway obstruction (choking). The students learned to evaluate breathlessness and pulselessness enabling them to know when to use CPR and abdominal thrusts (also known as the Heimlich maneuver).
The hands-on lessons were demonstrated on two types of mannequins, an adult torso and a baby, in order to learn how to perform these life saving skills on people of different sizes. In addition they were taught how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).