Download American Heart Association, Arizona Cardinals Preparatory

American Heart Association, Arizona Cardinals Preparatory
Academy Team Up to Share the Gift of CPR with Students!
First-of-its-kind program for Maricopa County students gets underway on
September 22, 2009
PHOENIX, Sept 8, 2009 – The American Heart Association has teamed with the
Arizona Cardinals Football Club and the Arizona Cardinals Preparatory Academy, for a
special CPR instructional program for 7th grade students. Through the use of the CPR
Anytime kit, students will each be given their own mini blow-up mannequin and
instructional DVD and workbook.
The program, called Heartbeat of Arizona, will teach 7th graders across Maricopa County
the skills needed to perform cardio pulmonary resuscitation in only 22 minutes.
On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, students at the Arizona Cardinals Preparatory
Academy will be the first in Maricopa County to experience this new program. The
campus is located at Richard E. Miller Elementary School (2021 W. Alice, Phoenix 85021) in the Washington District.
"Through the Heartbeat of Arizona program, our 7th grade students will be offered this
special skill that will result in lives being saved. We’re honored that the Arizona
Cardinals and the American Heart Association chose our academy to unveil this great
educational opportunity," says Principal Jackie Jackson, Ed D.
"It is our goal that this partnership will positively impact the students at Cardinals
Academy and their families by providing the CPR instructional kits that the students can
take home and share with others. Without a doubt this program will save lives and make
our community a safer place in which to live,” says Arizona Cardinals president, Michael
Bidwell.
“The American Heart Association has found that only 8 % of sudden cardiac arrest
victims survive because the vast majority of those witnessing the incident are people who
do not know how to perform CPR,” says Suzanne Sorof, MD, and board president of the
Phoenix American Heart Association.
Cities such as Seattle that have implemented heart safe programs boast survival rates
around 40 percent, according to the American Heart Association. When sudden cardiac
arrest occurs, the victim collapses, becomes unresponsive to gentle shaking, stops normal
breathing and after two rescue breaths, still isn't breathing normally, coughing or moving.
CPR helps maintain vital blood flow to the heart and brain and increases the amount of
time that an electric shock from a defibrillator can be effective, according to the
American Heart Association.
Recent studies have shown that students as young as 9 years are able to successfully and
effectively learn basic life support skills including AED [automated external defibrillator]
deployment, correct recovery position and emergency calling. A critical component of
the program is that after kids learn CPR in the classroom, they then take the CPR
Anytime kit home to share it with family and friends. Cities such as Seattle that have
implemented heart safe programs boast survival rates around 40 percent, according to the
American Heart Association.
Heartbeat of Arizona is made possible by generous funding from Phoenix area businesses
including the Arizona Cardinals Football Club, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and
Aetna. More than $1 million dollars is needed to sustain the program over the next three
years.
About The Cardinals Academy
The Cardinals Academy offers accelerated instruction to help students focus on their
education and service learning to help students achieve success. The academy promotes a
small school environment of not more than 120 students, quality teachers, and
community resources delivered in an accessible way to reduce or eliminate nonscholastic
barriers to staying in school.
About the American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association today is the nation’s oldest and largest
voluntary health organization dedicated to reducing disability and death from diseases of
the heart and stroke. These diseases, America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and all other
cardiovascular diseases claim over 870,000 lives a year. In fiscal year 2005–06 the
association invested over $543 million in research, professional and public education,
advocacy and community service programs to help all Americans live longer, healthier
lives. To learn more, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nancy Keane, communications director – 602-414-5341
[email protected]
Additional Facts on Sudden Cardiac Arrest and CPR
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About 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in private residential
settings, so being trained to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can
mean the difference between life and death for a loved one.
Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a
victim’s chance of survival.
CPR helps maintain vital blood flow to the heart and brain and increases the
amount of time that an electric shock from a defibrillator can be effective.
Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the
hospital.
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Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR,
more lives could be saved.
Brain death starts to occur four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac
arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time.
If bystander CPR is not provided, a sudden cardiac arrest victim’s chances of
survival fall 7 percent to 10 percent for every minute of delay until defibrillation.
Few attempts at resuscitation are successful if CPR and defibrillation are not
provided within minutes of collapse.
Coronary heart disease accounts for about 446,000 of the over 864,000 adults
who die each year as a result of cardiovascular disease.
There are 294,851 emergency medical services-treated out-of-hospital cardiac
arrests annually in the United States.
There are about 138,000 coronary heart disease deaths within one hour of
symptom onset each year in the United States.
Sudden cardiac arrest is most often caused by an abnormal heart rhythm called
ventricular fibrillation (VF). Cardiac arrest can also occur after the onset of a
heart attack or as a result of electrocution or near-drowning.
When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the victim collapses, becomes unresponsive to
gentle shaking, stops normal breathing and after two rescue breaths, still isn’t
breathing normally, coughing or moving.