National CPR/AED Awareness Week -- June 1-7

In December of 2007, Congress declared the first week of June each year as National CPR/AED Awareness Week. This week (June 1-7) will mark National CPR and AED Awareness Week with the goal of encourage states, cities and towns to establish organized programs that provide CPR and AED trainings and increase public access to AEDs.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of CPR, the combination of mouth-to-mouth breathing and chest compressions. According to American Heart Association, training more people to perform CPR increases a victim’s chance of survival by enabling more possible bystanders to handle an emergency. Less than one-third of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander. Without immediate CPR, the chance of surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest drops up to 10 percent for each minute that passes without defibrillation. Skilled emergency personnel treat about 300,000 victims of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in the United States, but more than 92 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital die from it.

Groups like the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross has stepped up to the challenge reach as many people nationwide as possible during this one week with the vital knowledge and skills to respond to a life-threatening situation with confidence.

Locally, the Overland Park Fire Department is offering CPR/AED training. Click here for more information.

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security reminds its citizens that individual and family preparedness includes basic health and medical support such as CPR and AED usage.