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American Heart Association creates next generation of lifesavers


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Classroom-tested kit empowers educators to teach hundreds of students CPR


 (DALLAS, Oct. 14, 2013) — Nearly 360,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year, and most of those victims die, often because bystanders don’t know how to start CPR or are afraid they’ll do something wrong. The American Heart Associationbelieves kids are the answer to saving more lives.

The American Heart Association is helping prepare more students, their teachers and their families to save lives with the CPR in Schools Training Kit™. The hands-on, interactive kit is based on the latest science and makes it easy for educators to train the next generation of lifesavers in 30 minutes or less.

Using a “practice while watching” approach, students practice CPR with their own inflatable manikin while watching and learning from a DVD. Students learn Hands-Only™ CPR, and other life-saving techniques like giving breaths, choking relief and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). The portable kit can be reused to train a whole class, grade level or even an entire school. Each kit comes with 10 manikins and instructional DVDs so that kids can take training home and help pass these lifesaving skills to their family and community.

“Four out of every five out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in private or residential settings, so we have to find ways to emphasize the importance of knowing CPR to save the lives of family members and loved ones,” said Robert W. Neumar, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the University of Michigan Medical School’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “The CPR in Schools Training Kits enable educators to teach students life-saving CPR, and empowers schools to serve the families in their communities,” said Neumar, who serves as Chair of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee.

Lawmakers in 12 states are requiring all students to be trained in psychomotor skill-based CPR before graduating from high school. Seven states have laws in place or that go into effect this school year, and five more have passed laws that will be implemented in the future. To learn more about CPR in Schools legislation, go to http://beCPRsmart.org.

Additional materials are available at www.heart.org/CPRinSchools. To learn more about the American Heart Association’s CPR & First Aid programs, call 1-877-AHA4CPR or visitheart.org/cpr.

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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. 4 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 heart.org.

Media Contact:
Katie Brooks
214.706.1857
Katie.Brooks@heart.org
 



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