GET CPR TRAINING: SAVE A HEART ATTACK VICTIM

CPR training can help you save one of the 479,000 Americans that will otherwise die this year from sudden cardiac arrest caused by a heart attacks or abnormal heart rhythms.

Some heart attacks strike with intense pain, chest pressure and shortness of breath, yet other symptoms are more subtle. CPR classes can teach you how to recognize the signs of an impending heart attack.

Ninety percent of cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital. Though 75% of victims were home with family, often no one has taken CPR training. Whether heart attack symptoms appear suddenly or not, when a heart stops beating, CPR training can save a life.

Within four to six minutes after a heart attack triggers cardiac arrest, brain death begins. With CPR training, you'll know how to help circulate blood to the heart and brain while the body is unable to function on its own. The instructions learned in basic CPR training can double a heart attack victim's survival chances.

If you haven't taken CPR training, what can you do other than call 911 when a heart attack victim collapses? Not much.

Fortunately, CPR classes are now more convenient than they used to be -- often taking just a few hours. Faster still, CPR training has gone video. As little as 22 minutes of CPR video instruction can help you save a heart attack victim; maybe the life of someone you know and love.

• Learn heart attack warning signs. If a potential victim appears to exhibit those signs, encourage them to seek immediate help from a medical professional.
• Attend a CPR class or watch the American Heart Association's CPR training video: CPR Anytime. Better still, gather family and friends for CPR training at your home.
• Encourage your employer to offer CPR training at your workplace.
• Initiate CPR training at your religious or community group.