American Heart Association Revolutionary Self-directed Cpr Learning Program: Cpr Anytime™ for Family and Friends

American Heart Association Revolutionary Self-directed Cpr Learning Program: Cpr Anytime™ for Family and Friends

The national cardiac arrest survival rate in the U.S. is at a dismal 5 percent or less and approximately 75 percent – 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occur at home. Recognizing that far too many Americans aren’t prepared to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when it’s needed, the American Heart Association created a simple, affordable way for people to learn CPR in less than 25 minutes, for under $30 – CPR Anytime™ for Family and Friends. Everything needed to complete this self-directed CPR training comes in one kit, which can be used in the convenience of the living room or family room. A single kit allows an entire family to learn CPR. The kit includes a one-of-a-kind CPR manikin, 22-minute DVD and resource booklet.

The CPR Anytime manikin is an inflatable version of the traditional CPR manikin, designed exclusively for CPR Anytime for Family and Friends by Laerdal Medical Corporation. An instructional DVD walks users through each step of the training, from inflating the manikin, to doing chest compressions and rescue breathing. The CPR Anytime for Family and Friends program allows users to keep the kit, so it can be used in a variety of training settings — from community group meetings with multiple trainees to families and individuals at home. The American Heart Association’s goal is for each person who receives a kit to take it home and share it with other family members, increasing the number of potential rescuers. The kit also allows families to refresh their skills whenever they can.

“Many people don’t take a CPR course because they don’t have time, are afraid of embarrassing themselves in the classroom, or don’t think they’ll ever have to provide CPR,” said Ed Stapleton, American Heart Association editor for community products. “CPR Anytime for Family and Friends removes traditional training obstacles by providing a brief and convenient way to learn CPR. With CPR Anytime, millions more people trained can result in thousands more lives saved.”

CPR Anytime for Family and Friends is for people who don’t need a course completion card to satisfy a work requirement and who most likely would never attend a traditional CPR course.

Introducing Mini Anne™

Laerdal Medical, through its strategic alliance with the American Heart Association, worked closely on the development of the CPR Anytime for Family and Friends kit. Most notably, Laerdal created Mini Anne, a unique manikin designed to accurately simulate a human — from the resistance of the chest during a compression to the amount of air necessary to make the chest rise and fall. Users are alerted that they pressed the chest hard enough when they hear a click, much like the larger manikins, typically used in traditional courses.

Why learn CPR?

Because most cardiac arrests occur at home, CPR Anytime for Family and Friends is the perfect way for families to learn how to help save a family member or friend who experiences sudden cardiac arrest. Effective CPR can help make the difference between life and death, buying valuable time and increasing the likelihood that the victim can successfully be defibrillated by an electric shock.

Each year, more than 335,000 people across the country die from coronary heart disease before reaching a hospital or in an emergency room. Most of those deaths result from sudden cardiac arrest. When the arrest occurs outside a hospital setting, most victims die because CPR and defibrillation were not provided soon enough. Although the American Heart Association annually trains more than nine million people, the vast majority of people in the U.S. do not know CPR. If more people performed effective CPR immediately after someone suffers cardiac arrest, thousands more lives could be saved.  To Learn CPR at Home contact LifeSavers, Inc. at 973-244-9111 or order your kit online at www.LifesaversInc.com.  Adult/Child kits are $29.95 and infant  kits are $34.95.  More information on heart related issues can be found at www.americanheart.org or www.suddencardiacarrest.org

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Scott is an volunteer EMT in New Jersey and works for LifeSavers, Inc. overseeing their National American heart Association CPR Training Center. The training center provides training for over 9000 people annually with over 250 affiliated instructors. Additional Scott is currently a regional faculty member for the AHA in NJ. He has over 30 years teaching experience and over 35 years in EMS. Prior to LifeSavers, Inc. he worked for Saint Michaels Medical Center overseeing the CPR, ACLA and EMT Training programs.