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Now, when you’re waiting for your next flight at DFW, you can put that time to good use and learn how to save someone’s life!

The AHA and American Airlines Occupation Health Services are helping passengers learn and practice lifesaving Hands-Only CPR at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. The Hands-Only CPR kiosk, allowing hands-on practice with an actual CPR manikin and automated watch-while-practice CPR program, is now located in Terminal C, Gate 7 and will be there for the next six months. 

The touch screen kiosk’s video program gives a brief introduction to the steps of Hands-Only CPR, followed by a practice session and a 30-second CPR test. The kiosk provides feedback about the depth, and rate of your compressions and proper hand placement.

“Every American should know the simple steps of Hands-Only CPR,” said Ahamed Idris, M.D., a spokesman for the American Heart Association and professor of Surgery and Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “We hope the Hands-Only CPR kiosk at DFW Airport really takes off – we’d love to see other high-traffic places do the same so more people can learn this lifesaving skill.”

We’re so excited about this revolutionary new program that takes us one step closer to making sure every American knows the simple skills to save a life!

This year, CPR Week (June 1-7) was immediately followed by the June 11 kick-off of the Hands-Only CPR Mobile Tour in Milwaukee, WI.  Through support of the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, we are well on our way to training thousands of people in Hands-Only CPR in June and July.  Last week we were joined by many special guests including Milwaukee Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing, Beth Sawant – a bystander who successfully performed CPR, “Hearty” the American Heart Association mascot, and hundreds of citizens who came out to learn CPR.  Then in Cleveland we were joined by Richard Strain, a man who on May 19, 2013 collapsed while running a half marathon and was saved by prompt bystander CPR, EMS transport, and his physician Dr. Gandhi.  We’ll continue to update you as the tour progresses through various cities in Ohio.

CPR in Schools will soon be a reality in Texas! This past Friday, Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation that makes Texas the 11^th – and largest – state to require CPR education for graduation from high school. The law goes into effect for the Class of 2015.

This is quite a milestone because of the sheer numbers involved. Texans comprise 9 percent of all high school graduates in the country, or 280,000-plus students per year. That means that by 2020 there will be well more than a million more Americans equipped with this lifesaving knowledge from the Lone Star State alone. Of course, there will be many more CPR trainees from the other states that preceded Texas in passing this legislation. Those states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Washington. For more information visit www.BeCPRSmart.org.

Special thanks go out to AHA’s You’re the Cure network of advocates, staff who signed 100-plus petitions, those who sent nearly 13,000 emails sent to lawmakers and all who helped to spread the word about AHA’s efforts!  

We also want to thank Gov. Perry for his support.  If you would like to join us in doing so, please click here.

Special thanks to the state of Arkansas! HB 2224 passed both the House and Senate and is now signed into law by Governor Beebe. This bill will require basic CPR training to be a permanent part of the high school Health and Safety Course, which is a requirement for graduation. 

Starting with the freshman class of 2016, all high school students in Virginia will be trained in CPR before they graduate. Gwyneth’s Law, named for 13-year old Gwyneth Griffin who died in July 2012 after suffering a cardiac arrest at school, also requires all teachers in Virginia to be trained in CPR.

Join our movement today to make all students in America CPR Smart!www.becprsmart.org

We’ve just learned that Virginia Governor McDonnell has signed a law mandating that (staring with the freshman class of 2016) all high school students in Virginia will be trained in CPR before they graduate! The bill also requires all teachers in Virginia to be trained in CPR as a condition of their licensure. 

The legislation, Gwyneth’s Law, was named for 13-year old Gwyneth Griffin, who died in July 2012 after suffering a cardiac arrest at school. Her parents, Joel and Jennifer Griffin, were tireless advocates and worked side-by-side with AHA staff to advance this legislation. Knowing that CPR could have saved her life, the Griffins made it their mission to empower Virginians to save lives for generations to come. Gwyneth’s Law will add approximately 80,000 CPR trained rescuers across Virginia every year. The AHA team was honored to help them create a legacy for Gwyneth and to help prevent other parents from suffering the same tragedy. 

Special thanks and congratulations go out to our Advocacy staff leads Government Relations Director Chris Ramos and Grassroots Director Keltcie Delamarand, the whole Virginia staff, the volunteer team and legislative champions Del. Mark Dudenhefer and Sen. Richard Stuart for their hard work to achieve this incredible success. We’re one step closer to achieving our goal of having every student trained in lifesaving CPR before graduation!

A little knowledge can be a lifesaving thing. Too often, people use “sudden cardiac arrest” and “heart attack” interchangeably, but they shouldn’t. Now, the AHA offers an infographic that can help you learn the difference. Check it out today. Fast action can save lives. Know what to do if someone experiences a heart attack or cardiac arrest.

Infographic – What is Cardiac Arrest vs. Heart Attack?

Today is the day! It’s the 10^th Annual National Wear Red Day. We hope you are all donning red today whether it is a dress, shirt, tie, scarf, shoes or an AHA Red Dress pin. 

Today kicks off the first day of American Heart Month. For 10 years, women have been fighting heart disease individually and together as part of the Go Red For Women movement. More than 627,000 women’s lives have been saved, and 330 fewer women are dying per day. But the fight is far from over. 

Heart disease is still our No. 1 killer – it affects more women than men and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined. But the strength of mothers, sisters, daughters and friends fighting side by side is more powerful than any killer. I show my support in honor of the women I love, and I hope you’ll join me! Visit www.heart.org for more information and tools to help you spread the word.

“Out for a 10-mile run on a beautiful Florida day, 52-year-old Costco member Tom Maimone collapsed at mile nine in a neighbor’s driveway. Luckily, Tom Elowson, also a Costco member, was driving by when it happened. Immediately, Elowson jumped into action and started chest compressions while humming the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” (to maintain the correct pace) as a neighbor called 911. “I had never had any formal CPR training,” says Elowson, who had seen the Today show’s Matt Lauer demonstrate Hands-Only CPR and remembered it.”

Read more about the lifesaving difference Hands-Only CPR made for Tom Maimone in the February issue of Costco Connection, a monthly magazine distributed to 8.5 million Costco store members worldwide. Thank you, Costco, for helping AHA spread the word about the importance of taking action with two simple steps to save a life!

http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201302#pg62