MINNEAPOLIS, MN--Seventy-two Minnesota movie screens will be airing a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training public service announcement created by the MN Resuscitation Consortium during February’s National Heart Month to bring awareness to a highly lethal heart event called sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
Heart disease continues to be the number one killer of women. The American Heart Association states 1 in 3 women die from heart disease each year – that is at the astounding rate of one per minute.
From Friday, February 7th – Thursday, February 13th, learn the 3 basics steps of CPR – Call, Compress, Clear, prior to the feature presentation. Movie theatres include: Cine Magic 7 Theatres, Austin; Cine Magic Washington Square 5 Theatre, Detroit Lakes; Eden Prairie 18 IMAX; Century 9 Theatres, Hutchinson; Movies 8, Mankato; Mall of America 14, Minneapolis; Hollywood 12 Theatres, Rochester.
Sudden cardiac arrest accounts for more than 300,000 deaths each year. Survival is tragically low at approximately 10% nationwide. In Minnesota, there are impressive results for resuscitation efforts with survival totaling around 14% (case capture ~50% of all Minnesota cardiac arrests), but more can be done. One way to improve this is by increasing the number of SCA patients that receive bystander CPR.
Around the country, bystander CPR rates are as high as 61%, however in Minnesota, the bystander CPR rate is only 34%. This means 66% of Minnesotans suffering SCA are not getting one of the easiest and potentially life-saving procedures. Willingness to provide CPR is impacted by lack of confidence and retention of skills, fear of liability, and potential risk with mouth-to-mouth contact. New guidelines and training programs have worked to alleviate the concerns of bystanders, but an impact has not been seen in Minnesota.
Demetris Yannopoulos, MD, Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Minnesota and Medical Director for the MN Resuscitation Consortium explained further. “Cardiac arrest care is a constantly changing process. New research, tools and technology are being utilized to improve outcomes. The simple practice of providing early CPR from bystanders could save more lives.”
SOURCE: MN Resuscitation Consortium