Today I went through American Heart Association basic First Aid, CPR, and AED training put on by the local fire department. I was suprised to learn that, because of the varied causes of collapse in breathing and heartbeat, CPR allows fewer than about 5% of victims to live, and that for infants the number is even lower. We were told that if the cause of collapse was ventral fibrillation that the general CPR numbers applied but with both CPR and AED the survival rate jumped to 40% plus.

Sobering.

Perhaps the most difficult technique for me to do properly was using the right amount of force to strike infants on the back to try to help them survive a choking incident - it felt like child abuse.