In 1960, a group of resuscitation pioneers combined mouth-to-mouth breathing with chest compressions to create cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the lifesaving action we now call CPR. This action, when provided immediately after a sudden cardiac arrest, can significantly increase a victim’s chance of survival.

Please join the American Heart Association in celebrating 50 years of CPR — and all the lives that have been saved because of it. This event is a great opportunity to step up and promote CPR training! Did you know:

• About 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in private residential settings. Being trained to perform CPR can mean the difference between life and death for a loved one.
• Effective bystander CPR provided immediately after cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
• More than 90 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital, but death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved.