The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

We are familiar with the scene on television and movies: a person clutches their chest and drops to the ground, unconscious. Another character starts chest compressions and help is summoned. Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is often not accurately portrayed in such productions, it serves as a good reminder to all that CPR can save a life.

Cardiac arrest is a general term to describe any situation in which the heart stops pumping blood to other organs in the body, most urgently the brain. Cardiac arrest can have many causes, including a massive heart attack or a deadly heart a...