Show some love this Valentine’s Day and learn how to save a life with London Ambulance Service

Paramedics at London Ambulance Service are urging people to show their love by learning CPR this Valentine’s Day.

The plea comes as new figures show that 75 per cent of cardiac arrests happen at home and are most likely to be witnessed by a family member or housemate.

Sam Palfreyman-Jones, Head of First Responders at London Ambulance Service, said: “Forget flowers and chocolates this Valentine’s Day.

“If you really want to show your love for someone, you should learn how to perform CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

“These skills are really simple to learn and yet could mean the difference between life and death. If someone is in cardiac arrest, their heart stops beating and without help they will die.

“With most cardiac arrests happening in the home, these simple skills could save someone you love.”

The figures have been published in the Service’s annual report looking into cardiac arrests in the capital.

The report also revealed that men made up 66 per cent of the 12,242 people in cardiac arrest that London Ambulance Service responded to last year. The average age was 64.

Fewer than 10 per cent of those who suffered a cardiac arrest survived.

London Ambulance Service runs the London Lifesavers campaign which aims to increase survival rates by creating a city of lifesavers.

It organises CPR and defibrillator training for schools, communities and organisations. The public is also invited to attend free pop events across the capital.

The next one is at Waterloo station on Wednesday 19 February 10am-3pm

Details of future events can be found here.

For those who cannot attend a pop up session, this video will teach you everything you need to know to save a life.

Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles said: “When someone is in cardiac arrest, every second counts and our latest data shows that we have got faster at answering calls and have faster ambulance response times – some of the best in the country.

“Our call handlers have also got quicker at instructing people in how to give CPR over the phone and this is improving survival rates.

“But we could save even more people if everyone learned simple life-saving skills and more people had access to a defibrillator.”

The London Ambulance Charity has launched the Heart Starters campaign to fund 200 new defibrillators.

These will be installed in unlocked cabinets in public places where Londoners need them most.

The cardiac arrest report found that despite defibrillators doubling someone’s chance of survival, the use of public defibrillators was very low.

The data also found that people were most likely to go into cardiac arrest in the morning – especially between 9am and 10am. And London Ambulance Service was most frequently called to cardiac arrests on a Sunday.

December was the month with the highest number of cardiac arrests.

Help us place defibs in the heart of every community by donating at the London Ambulance Charity website.