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Last week, the British Heart Foundation kicked off its own Hands-Only CPR campaign, inspired by the AHA’s Ad Council campaign. Due to the quick turnaround time for the foundation to prepare its campaign, in a true collaborative spirit, the AHA shared with the foundation its campaign research, rights to use the Hands-Only CPR name and provided additional consulting.

The foundation’s humorous “Hard & Fast” Hands-Only CPR campaign features British “hard man” Vinnie Jones, who encourages bystanders with a message that “it’s not as hard as it looks” to perform the two simple steps of calling 999 (the UK’s emergency response number), then pushing hard and fast to the beat of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.” A retired footballer turned actor, Jones is well-known in the UK for his tough man image, his aggressive style and intimidating demeanour.

The British Heart Foundation’s website features many campaign elements, including the campaign’s TV ad, which began airing in the UK on January 6, a blog and an “Ask Vinnie” application, a Hands-Only CPR instructional video and more. At the site, visitors also can sign a petition to make CPR training part of school curricula.

You can view all of the components of this campaign at www.bhf.org.

Again, this project is a fantastic example of collaborative work, which has allowed the British Heart Foundation to bring this lifesaving campaign to the UK public. Thanks to all involved in this project!

I wanted to share a moving story from this year’s Resuscitation Science Symposium.  Dr. Kelly Sawyer, the winner of the Best Abstract Award, which was presented at Saturday’s meeting, actually survived a cardiac event herself. She received therapeutic hypothermia, a treatment recommended in the 2005 AHA Guidelines for CPR & ECC, and went on to complete her research on this very topic. The attached article (top of page) appeared in Saturday’s issue of the Scientific Sessions Daily News.

 This is an inspiring example of how the AHA’s resuscitation research and science have made a lifesaving impact.

This weekend, we will be hosting  the 9^th annual Resuscitation Science Symposium (ReSS) in Orlando, and I wanted to provide you all with some background on this increasingly successful meeting.

 ReSS was founded by ECC Volunteers Lance Becker and Graham Nichol in 2003, as a pre-symposium to AHA’s Scientific Sessions. It serves as an international forum for innovation and collaboration between cardiac and trauma resuscitation scientists, and contributes to the ECC knowledge discovery, translation and transfer process through informing potential ECC Guidelines and education changes.

Over the last nine years, ReSS has grown significantly – from 250 attendees in 2003 to more than 1300 in 2010. It is now recognized as the premier annual resuscitation science conference in the world. Several AHA Scientific Statements have been published (or are in-progress) based upon ReSS presentations and discussions. Also, in 2008, Drs. Becker and Nichol were honored as recipients of the 2008 AHA Meritorious Achievement Award for their significant contributions to the development and growth of ReSS.

I will provide you with an update on some of the ReSS highlights when I return on Monday. If you have any questions about this symposium, please contact me or visit the ReSS web page for a look at the conference program.

Check out this survival story from 14-year-old Brittany Lobs. It is a powerful example of why CPR training as a graduation requirement is such a critical priority for the AHA. -John

As a sophomore in high school, I was nominated to Wichita’s American Heart Association’s Sweetheart program in 2002. At the time, I believed this experience would be an exciting adventure into the world of being a “big girl”. However. at fourteen years old, I could not grasp how this program would truly make me into the woman I am today.