Ophie Chen is arming others with CPR and AED skills, wanting people in all age groups to be prepared in a life-threatening emergency.

While other teens were enjoying their summer breaks, one La Jolla High School senior was empowering others to save lives with CPR and AED use.

Ophie Chen is working towards achieving the highest Scouting America rank: Eagle Scout. As part of her Eagle Scout candidacy, she has led two CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) seminars at the La Jolla Community Center to ensure senior citizens are prepared in an emergency.

The free, hands-on seminars included CPR education, practice dummies and take-home instruction cards and CPR masks.

Chen taught attendees how to recognize cardiac arrest and how to respond to it, addressing the fear that often surrounds having to administer the AED.

Several participants commented the class was more difficult than they thought but necessary and very helpful.

Teaching seniors CPR and AED skills became the focus of Chen’s Eagle Scout work after a martial arts instructor, whom Chen described as “like a grandpa to me,” suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed.

Two others onsite were able to administer “really effective CPR and then get him to a hospital in time,” Chen said. “He ended up surviving for several more years without any complications.”

The incident illustrated for Chen the need for people to know CPR and how to locate and use an AED, a point further emphasized when conversations with her peers revealed few of them had these skills.

“I learned [CPR] when I was pretty young,” she said. “I assumed that it was more widespread knowledge, but it really wasn’t.”

Chen said people in all age groups should have emergency preparedness skills at hand.

In preparing for the seminars, Chen conducted research into how to find an AED (visit pulsepoint.org or use the PulsePoint app), the difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack (during the latter, a person is still breathing and responsive) and more.  

In a real emergency, knowing this information can empower a person through any panic and guide assistance, she said.

“Even if it’s not through my seminars, I hope that more people will be able to learn about CPR and how to use the AED,” Chen added.