Author: Tracey McAlpine Category: Health, Heart Health, Women's Health
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CPR is something that everyone should learn.

Even though I completed a course years ago I wonder if I would remember everything when the time came to use it.  Thankfully there is a new app that can help me brush up on my skills.

The Resuscitation Council (UK) and UNIT9 have just launched the Lifesaver, a revolutionary ay to learn CPR.  The Resuscitation Council (UK) is the medical charity that produces the official UK guidelines for CPR that are followed by the NHS and all the first aid charities, and together with award-winning production company UNIT9 they have produced Lifesaver.

An estimated 60,000 people each year in the UK have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and, sadly, less than 10% of those people will survive.  Yet, if a bystander is able to start CPR they could double a person’s chances of survival.  More alarmingly 80% of cardiac arrests occur in the home.  Would you know how to help a loved one?  Many people are deterred from getting involved because they are afraid of making things worse.  However, if someone has a cardiac arrest, their heart has already stopped and they are likely to die if no help is offered – so you can only improve their situation by doing CPR.

Lifesaver is a crisis simulator, which fuses interactivity and live-action film to teach CPR in a new way, on your computer, smartphone or tablet.  And it’s completely free.

Lifesaver is a live-action movie you play like a game.  It just happens to show you how to save someone’s life.  It throws you into the heart of the action, changing what happens in movies showing real people in real places. 

You learn by doing: do it wrong, and see the consequences; do it right, and sense the thrill of saving a life.

On the versions for phone and tablet, you actually move your device up and down, two times a second, to do CPR on the victim in the film.  If you’re too slow, he’ll die.  When someone’s choking, you move your device down sharply to hit her on the back.

You can see a 3-minute video introduction to Lifesaver here:
http://vimeo.com/65653781

To play Lifesaver on your computer, please visit the website:
www.life-saver.org.uk/

The iPad app is here: www.tinyurl.com/lifesaver-ipad

The iPhone app is here: www.tinyurl.com/lifesaver-iphone

The app for Android tablets is here:
www.tinyurl.com/lifesaver-and-tablet

And the app for Android phones is here:
www.tinyurl.com/lifesaver-and-mobile

Lifesaver was produced by the UK’s top digital creative production house, UNIT9. It was written and directed by five-time BAFTA/Emmy nominee Martin Percy.

Lifesaver also provides an opportunity to hear expert advice on CPR and real-life accounts of cardiac arrest: for example, Viv Cummins’ husband suffered a cardiac arrest and she was unable to save his life.  Despite this tragic outcome, Viv talks about finding solace in the fact that because she knew how to perform CPR, she felt she did everything she could do to give her husband the best possible chance of survival.  In stark contrast, Emma Parks and her husband talk with great relief about how she was able to save his life through CPR.

Dr Jasmeet Soar, Vice Chairman of the Resuscitation Council (UK), comments on the Council’s aims for Lifesaver: “Lifesaver provides a great opportunity to guide the public through the simple but vital steps of performing CPR to encourage them to step-in if they witness someone having a cardiac arrest and, potentially, help save a life. The interactive video format of Lifesaver is a game changer for how people learn CPR.  The vivid reality of the scenarios is compelling and will encourage more people to learn CPR, and help save lives”, adding  “It has been tremendous for the Resuscitation Council to work with UNIT9 to arrive at an Application that is so effective.  We are hopeful that others will see the benefit in promoting Lifesaver within their own organisations and networks to encourage people to perform CPR.”

Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We need all the help we can get in the battle to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in the UK and Lifesaver will help give people the confidence to step in and help in a medical emergency”.   He goes on to say “Smartphones are now being transformed into vital training aids and developments in technology are providing unique and effective ways to give someone the skills to save a life.”

Heart attack is the term used commonly for myocardial infarction.  This is when an artery supplying blood to heart muscle becomes blocked and the heart muscle supplied by that artery dies.  This usually causes severe chest pain and is an emergency.  Individuals should dial 999 immediately.

Download and play today – it might just save a life!

Lifesaver