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13abc.com

The American Heart Association just released its updated CPR guidelines for 2020, with changes that address health disparities and the opioid crisis. They also include a new recovery phase that focuses on survivors' and caregivers' physical, social, and emotional well being.

The AHA says the recovery phase is an important component of survival. After suffering from cardiac arrest, people can experience post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety.

The organization is offering a free virtual event to educate the public about the new guidelines. The group is also encouraging people to take a CPR class because it can save lives.

“In the United States right now, we’re hovering around 40% for basically if someone has an arrest on the street, there’s only about a 4 in 10 chance that they’re going to get any CPR before EMS gets there. And that’s one of the key links in the cardiac chain of survival is early, hands-on CPR,” says Dr. William Krebs, Mercy Life Flight’s medical director.