Throughout this week, you will often see the term Chain of Survival. This refers to our suggested best-practice response to a cardiovascular event. Our research has provided us the foundation to establish this Chain of Survival and CPR and AEDs play a huge role in this process. A strong Chain of Survival can improve chances of survival and recovery for victims of heart attack, stroke and other emergencies. The steps in the Chain of Survival are as follows:

1. Recognize an emergency
2. Call 9-1-1!
3. Begin Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
4. Use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

As you can see, CPR and the use of an AED are two of the major steps of this Chain of Survival. As we raise CPR/AED awareness this week, it is important to recognize that these steps are more than just individual actions, they are steps in a larger chain that, when followed, increase survival rates dramatically.

Here's a video produced by the American Heart Association to show the Chain of Survival in action.

This post is part of our series on CPR/AED Awareness Week. To see all CPR/AED Awareness week posts click here.