That’s why the American Heart Association is advocating to prepare more Pennsylvania students, their teachers and their families to save lives by supporting CPR in schools legislation.
A recent poll commissioned by the American Heart Association and conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research showed that 83 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania support legislation requiring public schools to provide CPR training to all students before graduation.
In April, American Heart Association volunteer advocates from across Pennsylvania rallied to support legislation that would add a hands-only, 30-minute CPR training program to the state education curriculum for high school students. Twenty-one other states have passed similar CPR in schools legislation.
CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.
Bystander CPR is a primary factor in increasing survival rates, yet according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, Latinos and African-Americans are 30 percent less likely to have bystander CPR performed on them in an emergency. Adding to this disparity, people who live in lower-income, African-American neighborhoods are 50 percent less likely to have CPR performed. Kids may be the answer to helping save these lives, especially if they can be trained a young age.
During CPR Week, June 1-7, the American Heart Association is encouraging all Pennsylvanians to learn the simple steps of Hands-Only CPR. Hands-Only CPR has just two easy steps: if you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100 beats per minute, approximately the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive,” until help arrives.
A short demonstration video is available at www.heart.org/handsonlycpr .
A recent poll commissioned by the American Heart Association and conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research showed that 83 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania support legislation requiring public schools to provide CPR training to all students before graduation.
In April, American Heart Association volunteer advocates from across Pennsylvania rallied to support legislation that would add a hands-only, 30-minute CPR training program to the state education curriculum for high school students. Twenty-one other states have passed similar CPR in schools legislation.
CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.
Bystander CPR is a primary factor in increasing survival rates, yet according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, Latinos and African-Americans are 30 percent less likely to have bystander CPR performed on them in an emergency. Adding to this disparity, people who live in lower-income, African-American neighborhoods are 50 percent less likely to have CPR performed. Kids may be the answer to helping save these lives, especially if they can be trained a young age.
During CPR Week, June 1-7, the American Heart Association is encouraging all Pennsylvanians to learn the simple steps of Hands-Only CPR. Hands-Only CPR has just two easy steps: if you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100 beats per minute, approximately the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive,” until help arrives.
A short demonstration video is available at www.heart.org/handsonlycpr .
