MAUMELLE, Ark. — On Monday night, millions watched in shock as a medical team rushed to perform CPR on Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin.
Diana Bolton, the owner of American First Response, spends her time training and certifying people on CRP.
"Every minute that a cardiac arrest victim is down without defibrillation decreases chances of survival by 7 to 10%," Bolton said.
Since the incident, she explained that there's been an interest in learning about CPR among Arkansans.
"We have gotten some calls of interest to take CPR and the AEDs," Bolton said.
In life-threatening situations, seconds truly matter, she added.
Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was revived twice— those scary moments have brought an increased awareness to be prepared when the unthinkable happens.
"You don't know when somebody's going to go down. It could be a stranger, [or] it could be a loved one," Bolton described.
Bolton said that 70% of all cardiac arrests outside the hospital happen inside homes.
That startling reality is why she trains and certifies people year-round to make sure they are equipped to save a life quickly.
"I know everybody is not comfortable doing ventilations on someone, but just doing those chest compressions keeps that circulation going," Bolton described.
Aside from CPR training, she said it's equally important people know how to use an Automated External Defibrillator or an AED.
"That is the same technology we have in the hospital. We can shock that person if they're in a lethal rhythm that is a shockable rhythm," Bolton said.
Simply put, you never know when that training can come in handy— and Bolton stressed that it's important not to wait.
"The gratitude coming back to us and say we saved our baby or we saved a loved one with our CPR skills," Bolton said.
American First Response is offering three free CPR classes on January 16.