Earlier this month, the American Heart Association challenged everyone to join the Nation of Lifesavers™ and commit to make CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) awareness and education a permanent fixture in all communities across the country.
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More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, and more than 90% of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital will not survive. CPR performed by a bystander and timely access to an AED can double or triple a person’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest, but less than half the people who need this lifesaving skill receive CPR from bystanders before professional help arrives. The American Heart Association is working to increase the number of bystanders who use CPR in an emergency.
The Association is committed to turning a nation of bystanders into lifesavers. The new multi-year initiative will ensure teens and adults can learn about CPR and AED use, share that knowledge with friends and family and engage employers, policymakers, philanthropists and others to create support for a nation of lifesavers. The long-term goal: to ensure that in the face of a cardiac emergency, anyone, anywhere is prepared and empowered to perform CPR and become a vital link in the chain of survival.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, cardiac arrest survivor and founder of the Chasing M’s Foundation, will serve as the National Ambassador for the movement.
“CPR saved my life on the field, and it could save your life or the life of someone you love,” said Hamlin. “Learning Hands-Only CPR is a simple process and can be the difference between life and death. I share the American Heart Association’s commitment to creating future generations of lifesavers.”
Creating a Nation of Lifesavers means the Association will simultaneously focus on efforts to drive policy change at both the federal and state levels. The Association has endorsed the federal Access to AEDs Act, which would create a grant program for K-12 schools to provide CPR and AED training; purchase AEDs; and create cardiac emergency response plans that establish specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in school settings. The Association also joins the National Football League—its longtime collaborator—in its Smart Heart Sports Coalition. Along with other major sports leagues and organizations, the coalition is advocating for states to adopt evidence-based public policies that will prevent fatal outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest among high school students.
Your TO-DO List:
• Take Action to help move the Access to AEDs Act here.
• Take 90 seconds to learn how to save a life now at www.heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR.
• Learn more about the Nation of Lifesavers ™ and help spread the word here.
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