(Press release)

The American Heart Association wants a million people to learn CPR and receive AED training as part of National CPR & AED Awareness Week, June 1–7, to help save cardiac arrest victims. The week encourages the public to get CPR training and learn how to use an AED. It also encourages them to log their training on the association’s web site. The site will feature a live map that will update in real time when people submit their information.

More than two hundred fifty thousand people die in the United States each year of sudden cardiac arrest before they reach a hospital. Without immediate CPR, the chance of surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest drops 7 percent to 10 percent for each minute that passes without defibrillation. Unfortunately, less than one third of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. There is a great need for more CPR and AED training.

Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s number one killer. Fifty percent of the 1,000 North Americans who die from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) every day have no prior knowledge that they had heart disease. Twenty percent of people who die from sudden cardiac arrest have no complaints or symptoms. Seventy percent of bystanders who respond to a cardiac emergency have either never received CPR and AED training or their training was more than five years ago, according to a 2008 American Heart Association survey. To keep skills current, training should occur at least every two years.

There are two ways to become CPR trained: take a traditional classroom-based course, or get a self-paced CPR Anytime kit, which includes an inflatable manikin and instructional DVD.

People can also learn the steps for Hands-Only CPR by viewing free videos online. Hands-Only CPR is for people who are unsure of their CPR skills and who witness an adult suddenly collapse. The steps are simple: Call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives.

Since 1995, the American Heart Association has recommended the development of lay rescuer AED programs to improve outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. To maximize the effectiveness of these programs, the AHA emphasizes the importance of organization, planning, training, linking with other alliances, and establishing a process of continuous quality improvement.

For more information about National CPR & AED Awareness Week and to find out more about training, visit www.americanheart.org/CPR&AEDweek or call 1-877-AHA-4CPR.