By Ryan Saundercook
A new campaign by Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation might creep you out if you’re not a fan of zombies, but it could also literally bring back people from the verge of death.
The new YouTube video, “The Undeading”, was released in early October and has since become a bit of a viral hit, achieving well over 500,000 views.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApmPQDAzYyM
In the video, a woman is being chased by hordes of the undead when she suddenly stops with a hand to her chest, apparently going into cardiac arrest. The zombies, unhappy with eating a dead woman, quickly administer CPR, and then return to devouring the woman as she regains consciousness.
A screenshot from the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s new viral video “The Undeading”.
The message of the video is quite serious. Specific instructions are given for how to properly administer CPR, which when used can often mean the difference between life and death.
Teresa Roncon, senior manager of media relations at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, told Humber News on Tuesday the main reason behind the campaign was the low levels of CPR awareness and education across Ontario and Canada.
“In Ontario and across Canada, CPR save rates stand at about five or six per cent on average,” said Roncon. “We can and need to do better than that.”
This means that out of every person who goes into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, only five to six per cent actually survive. Roncon said that the city of Seattle is considered “the gold standard” with a save rate of 16 per cent.
Roncon said bringing Toronto’s save rate up to 16 per cent like Seattle would be the equivalent of saving a jumbo jet full of people every year.
According to the American Heart Association, CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple the chances of the victim’s survival.
Canadian Heart and Stroke officials are continuing the campaign with an attempt at the world record for the most people learning CPR at one time.
The event takes place next Thursday at Canada’s Wonderland.
For event details, and local CPR training events, visit theundeading.ca