National CPR and AED Awareness Week – June 1– 7, 2018 – aims to raise awareness and increase the number of people who perform CPR in cardiac arrest emergencies. Each year, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States. About 90 percent of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die.
When a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. Only about 46 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.
Many Americans don’t perform CPR because they don’t know what to do or they are afraid of hurting the person. To help increase the likelihood of people performing CPR in an emergency, the American Heart Association recommends Hands-Only CPR, which has two easy steps. Step 1: Call 911. Step 2: Push hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives.
In 2007, the American Heart Association, in coalition with the American Red Cross and the National Safety Council, worked collaboratively to federally designate a National CPR and AED Awareness Week, which happens the first seven days of June each year.
In 2009, the American Heart Association launched a nationwide Hands-Only CPR campaign to raise awareness about this life-saving skill. The campaign is supported nationally by an educational grant from the Anthem Foundation. Since 2012, nearly 10.1 million people have been trained in Hands-Only CPR via events, training kiosks and video education with the Anthem Foundation’s support. Starting in 2017, the American Heart Association partnered with leading organizations in the field of cardiac arrest to form the National Cardiac Arrest Collaborative, with the goal of promoting how to help in a cardiac arrest emergency.