If A Heart Attack Strikes, Loved Ones May Be Saved Thanks To Free CPR Challenge

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), it is estimated that as many as nine out of ten cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital because most people are clueless about what to do in those critical few moments after a victim is stricken.

So imagine how many lives might be potentially saved right here in Newtown when 1,000 or more residents are trained in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and the use of public automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs.

That is the goal of the free Hearts for Harmon CPR Challenge, which continues Saturday, April 25, from 10:45 to 11:30 am, at The Fitness Loft on Simm Lane. The challenge, underwritten by Newtown Savings Bank and supported by Newtown-based Rescue Ropes and Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, continues with the ultimate goal of exposing 1,000 or more local residents to the potentially life-saving practices.

While the program does not provide certification, volunteers will teach the AHA’s new simpler guidelines for giving CPR to those suffering cardiac arrest through an innovative AHA self teaching system called CPR Anytime.

In less than one hour, the CPR Anytime system can help anyone to keep life-sustaining blood flowing to the heart when people suffer a heart attack. This second public training session is part of the ongoing Hearts for Harmon CPR Challenge being conducted in memory of The Newtown Bee’s late sports editor Kim Harmon, who died following a heart attack in December 2007.

There is no charge for the session, but participants are being asked to pledge to use the CPR Anytime kits they receive to expose ten or more additional friends or family members in the coming year, according to event organizer John Voket, a Newtown Bee associate editor and longtime friend of Mr Harmon.

In the spirit of this communitywide activity, several other health and fitness businesses have stepped up to help enlist participants who want to take the April 25 CPR Challenge. Anyone interested in participating, who is age 12 and older, can sign up for the training at The Fitness Loft, as well as Joanne’s Fitness Studio, Yoga Dimensions, The Graceful Planet, and The Inspired Body.

Organizers are asking participants to consider making a nominal $10 donation to AHA to participate. In exchange, each participant will receive a CPR Anytime training kit, which costs $45 if purchased individually from AHA’s vendor.

When a heart attack occurs, the heart stops suddenly and blood stops flowing to the heart. The newest AHA practice advises that the chest should be compressed 30 times before giving two mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths, then the chest should be pumped again.

About 310,000 coronary heart disease deaths occur out of hospital or in emergency departments each year in the United States. Of those deaths, about 166,200 are due to sudden cardiac arrest — nearly 450 per day.

Without immediate, effective CPR from a bystander, a person’s chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest decreases seven to ten percent per minute. Unfortunately, on average, less than one-third of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR, which can double or triple a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest, according to AHA stats.

“Thanks to the Newtown Savings Bank and Hearts for Harmon, participants will be able to share this life-saving training with friends, co-workers, or family members,” said Laurie Viellette, a local ambulance volunteer and owner of Rescue Ropes, an emergency training and consulting firm donating services to the cause. “They can save the $45 by making a tax deductible $10 donation to the AHA. Signing the CPR Challenge pledge is an inspirational component that encourages participants to share their CPR skills with ten or more people in the coming year.”

The CPR Anytime kit includes a training mannequin, instruction DVD, and guidebook. Anyone wanting to make a separate donation directly to the Harmon Family Fund can do so through the Newtown Savings Bank Main Street headquarters.

For more information, contact Mr Voket at 203-509-2246 or john@thebee.com.