According to the American Heart Association, about 90% of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die. If you are called on to give CPR in an emergency, you will most likely be trying to save the life of someone you love: a spouse, a parent or a friend. This February during American Heart Month, the American Heart Association is encouraging everyone to take the challenge of having one person in every family or household know how to perform CPR. Be the beat by learning the two simple steps it takes to save a life.
• Black and Hispanic people are less likely to receive bystander CPR than others, and women are less likely to receive CPR because people fear accusations of inappropriate touching, sexual assault, or injuring the person.
• More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, with about 70% happening in homes
• CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival
• Hands-Only CPR involves two simple steps and anyone can learn it from a 90-second video available at //http://heart.org/handsonlycpr.