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Got a minute? Save a life

CPR Week starts June 1st
Study shows watching brief CPR video can dramatically increase bystander action

American Heart AssociationNashville, TN – Got a minute? Help save someone’s life, using only your hands.
 
During National CPR Week, June 1st-7th, the American Heart Association is urging everyone to take 60 seconds to watch a Hands-Only CPR instructional video so they are equipped to act in a cardiac emergency.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuJkRpJ7Fxg&[/youtube]
 

In fact, a recent study shows that just watching a short instructional CPR video, as short as one minute, greatly increases the chances that bystanders will attempt CPR. And since a high number of cardiac incidents occur at home or close to home, the chances are that the person you will be saving is a loved one.
 
Even young children can learn it quickly. A 9-year-old boy was recently honored for helping to save his sister’s life with CPR, which he had learned watching the movie, “Black Hawk Down.”
 
70 percent of Americans have never been trained in CPR or their training has significantly lapsed. And when people lack confidence and knowledge of CPR, the odds of survival get worse for victims of cardiac arrest: Less than one-third of those victims get CPR from bystanders. But in the time it takes to wash your hands, wait for a red light to change or update your Facebook status, anyone can learn to save someone’s life.

Hands-Only CPR involves two simple steps:

  1. Call 9-1-1
  2. Push hard and fast on the center of the chest until professional help arrives, at the rate of 100 beats per minute – the same as the beat of the song “Staying Alive.”

The American Heart Association has endorsed Hands-Only CPR as a treatment for adult cardiac arrest victims since 2008, and studies have shown it is as effective as CPR with breaths. In addition, people who watch a brief Hands-Only CPR training video are significantly more likely to attempt CPR, according to a recent study published in the association’s scientific journal Circulation.
 
The American Heart Association also has a Hands-Only CPR app available to download on smart phones, which gives instructions using animation with sound.
 
Hands-Only CPR is recommended for adults who suffer a cardiac arrest at home, at work or in another public location. Children under eight years old still need full CPR with chest compressions and breaths since the cause of their cardiac arrest is typically respiratory-related.
 
For more information about CPR Week or Hands-Only CPR, visit www.heart.org/cpr

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or join us, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or any of our offices around the country, or visit www.heart.org.

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