Form students immediately in middle schools and higher than first aid maneuvers. To launch a real “call to arms” to protect the heart of those who suffer an arrest are the experts of Italian Resuscitation Council (IRC) – non -profit scientific society recognized by the Ministry of Health that brings together doctors, nurses and operators expert in cardiopulmonary resuscitation – on the occasion of “VIVA! The Week of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation“, Which from 13 to 19 October will include dozens of events open to the public and free throughout Italy.
Within the week, on October 16, the International Day of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – World Restart a Heart Day, promoted by European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the European Society of which IRC is part, will be held.
Learn from young people
Children between 10 and 12 years, if adequately trained, are in fact already able to perform the necessary actions to help the people affected by cardiac arrest, while from the age of 6 they are already able to contact the rescue and describe the dangerous situation, as confirmed by the recommendations formulated by International Liaison Committee on Restamention (Ilcor) and which will flow into the next guidelines of European Resuscitation Council (ERC) – which also participated in Italian Resuscitation Council experts (IRC) – and published in the international scientific journal “Resuscitation”.
For this reason, the school becomes an important target for raising awareness on the theme and for teaching directly what you have to do. Among the initiatives that promote training in schools, the “At First Aid School” project stands out, in which IRC participates together with INAIL (Regional Directorate Sardinia), the Regional School Office for Sardinia (USR) and the Regional Company for the emergency and urgency of Sardinia (Areus), which in the school year 2024/2025 formed over 10,000 students and 1,100 teachers in more than 50 secondary schools of the second degree of the Sardinia region.
The importance of acting immediately
As Andrea Scapigliati, president of Italian Resuscitation Council (IRC) recalls
“In many cases, Viva’s initiatives will involve students to spread more and more the culture of first aid even among the youngest groups of the population. In Italy, there are currently more than four million middle and high school students who can be trained on life -saving maneuvers, especially in light of Italian law 116 in 2021 – among the most advanced in Europe – which has introduced the mandatory teaching of first aid in schools. More prepared on first aid, the probability of survival to a cardiac arrest can triple ”.
The value of knowledge
Every year in Europe there are about 400,000 extra -specific cardiac arrests, including 60,000 in Italy only. Only in 58% of cases those who assist intervene with life -saving maneuvers (cardiac massage, fans) and only in 28% of cases a defibrillator is used. The final survival stands around 8%.
Teaching everyone to recognize a cardiac arrest and the actions to be carried out, starting from the rapid activation of the rescue through 112, is essential as the possibility of survival to cardiac arrest decreases by 10% for each minute that passes.
In Denmark the fact that the teaching of cardiopulmonary resuscitation has been made mandatory since 2006 to obtain the license and to enroll in professional courses (the certificates issued passed from 35,000 in 2005 to over 200,000 in each of the following years) led to a considerable increase in the percentage of occasional rescuers who have been able to carry out cardiopolmonary resuscitation waiting for the arrival of the arrival of the arrival of the arrival of the arrival of the arrival Rescue (from 27% of 2005 to 80% in 2019) and an increase in survival to cardiac arrest 30 days from 4.5% in 2015 to 14% in 2019.
