Bystander CPR can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. You could be the difference between life and death for someone experiencing a cardiac event.
When seconds matter most, CPR can be the difference in whether your friends and family survive. But not everyone knows how to perform CPR. The American Heart Association is challenging every household or family to become a Nation of Lifesavers and to have at least one person who knows CPR.
Hands-Only CPR has just two simple steps, performed in this order:
1) Call 911 if you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse; and
2) Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute. Some examples are “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira” or “Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash.
In Colorado, the American Heart Association is working hard to ensure that people all over the state have access to CPR training. An area of need is in the state’s rural communities where the travel time to any medical facility is 36% longer for rural residents than for other Americans.
One of the ways the American Heart Association is working to make an impact in these communities and strengthen the chain of survival is the CPR in Rural Schools Initiative.
Thanks to the collective support from Bob and Kelly Kinder, Randy Owen/GMR, and Transamerica Foundation, the American Heart Association has been able to work to touch more than 90 school districts in Colorado and provide 179 CPR training kits to schools in rural areas of the state through the CPR in Rural Schools Initiative. Each of the schools received a CPR in Schools Training Kit™ which enables students to learn the lifesaving skills of CPR in just one class period.
Through programs like the Nation of Lifesavers and CPR in Rural Schools, together, we can strengthen the chain of survival throughout all of Colorado and help give everyone the best chance for a positive outcome.
Check out the links to resources below to learn more about Hands-Only CPR, and to find a CPR course near you:
- Find a CPR training class near you by visiting https://atlas.heart.org/.
- Learn the 2 steps of Hands-Only CPR by visiting https://www.heart.org/en/nation-of-lifesavers.