An amazing cardiac arrest survivor story in the Houston Chronicle featuring Dr. Bentley Bobrow and life-saving TX-CARES:
Cardiac arrest is not uncommon, according to Dr. Ben Bobrow, professor and chair of emergency medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and attending physician at Memorial Hermann.
“Cardiac arrest happens on average 60 times a day in the state of Texas,” said Bobrow, who helped launch the Texas-Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) Program in 2019 to determine the frequency of loss of heart function.
Bystander CPR — which consists of only chest compressions instead of the traditional method that also includes breath — can triple the chance of survival, he explained.
“But CPR happens in only half the cases,” he said. “People are uncertain how to do it, and they don’t want to hurt someone. They shouldn’t be afraid to do CPR. They can only help someone by doing it.”
It’s his mission to spread the word. “CPR should be a life skill, like riding a bike or swimming,” he said.
Bobrow created a three-minute video on YouTube to teach bystander CPR, since COVID-19 has halted in-person classes.
“People can watch and learn how to do this,” he said. “It’s something you can even practice at home. CPR can be the difference between life and death. You want to be able to save a life.”