It Is time for Florida to Be CPR Smart

Did you know the majority of sudden cardiac arrests happen outside of the hospital?  That means away from Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and surrounded by regular people, just like us.

In many cases, it’s our neighbors, family members or even complete strangers who we rely on to save our lives.

It’s crucial that they know the one skill that could save you in the event of cardiac arrest: CPR. That’s why we’re working to bring more lifesavers to our community by making sure no high schooler in Florida graduates without learning the life-saving skill of CPR.  We must take action and ask our lawmakers to support CPR in Schools so more lives are saved.  But don’t take our word for it.  The facts support themselves:

• Many cardiac arrest victims appear healthy with no known heart disease or other risk factors. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating.
• Each year in the United States, about 326,000 people have sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, and only about 10 percent of these victims survive. 
• Yet, when a CPR-trained bystander is near, they can double, even triple these victims’ survival rates by giving victims the help they need until the EMTs arrive.
• Three to five minutes is a matter of life and death for sudden cardiac arrest victims. If victims don’t receive CPR or an AED in this timeframe, their survival rates drop.
• So far, 32 states across the country have passed laws requiring every high school student to be CPR-trained before graduation, and it’s paying off.  Graduates from just one school in Long Island, N.Y. have saved 16 lives      since being trained.

Florida has been prevented for several years from passing CPR legislation due to the objections of one powerful legislator. That individual has now decided to not run for re-election in 2016, opening the way for the possibility of passing CPR legislation in 2017.

Let’s save more lives.

Let’s train the next generation of lifesavers.

Let’s teach America’s students to be CPR smart.

Join us to support CPR training before graduation across America at BeCPRSmart.org.