The American Heart Association has released some facts and statistics that are directly related to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. I want to share some of these facts with you. For the complete list you can visit the AHA site.

About 75 to 80 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at HOME. This means having someone trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can make a substantial difference for the survival rates of a loved ones.

Approximately 310,000 of all annual adult coronary heart disease deaths in the United States are suffered outside the hospital setting and in hospital emergency departments. Of those deaths, about 166,200 are due to sudden cardiac arrest.

These are some very important reasons why we still need people to have CPR training. With response times for medical professionals, EMT's and Paramedics, taking anywhere from 6 to 20 plus minutes, depending on location and time of day, it now becomes vital for a bystander to help with CPR.

 In addition, the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED's) have also been playing a vital role in saving lives due to sudden cardiac arrest. This is why many companies and communitieshave introduced AED's to their safety programs.

 In closing, I ask that you ask yourself one question, and if the answer is NO than please consider going through a training course.

 If someone collapsed in front of you right now, would you know how to react?