Twenty-two minutes
to save a life

By Diane Villano
Times Staff Writer

Instead of watching one sitcom rerun, you can learn how to save the life of someone you love. The average half-hour television comedy has 22 minutes of programming. That’s all the time you need to learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation with the American Heart Association’s CPR Anytime kit.
CPR Anytime is a self-directed, personal CPR training program that can be used by an individual in the home and easily offered in a group setting.
The kit, which costs less than $30, includes a 22-minute DVD, an inflatable mannequin and information on child CPR, choking and automated external defibrillators.
The program was created to help the AHA reach its goal of training 20 million rescuers per year in CPR by 2010.
It enables individuals who might be intimidated by a large training class or those who don’t have the time for a traditional CPR certification program.
While participants in CPR Anytime are not certified, the program gives them the tools to save the lives of their family members and friends.
According to AHA senior manager Letitia Osborne, CPR doubles and even triples the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest. CPR maintains the vital blood flow to the heart and brain until more advanced care can be given.
Learning CPR with the kit is a lot easier than one might think. The most difficult part for one participant was getting up off the floor after kneeling for 20 minutes.
The DVD offers step-by-step instructions on breathing, proper placement of hands, the right depth and pacing of hand thrusts.
The mannequin, whose face was taken from a death mask of a young girl who was pulled from the River Seine in the early 1800s, has a tab that enables a clicker to sound when you hit the right depth of compression for an adult or child.
"The key thing we want people to go away with is realizing there’s an emergency, calling 911 and starting CPR," Osborne said.
The kit is perfect for individuals and families who want to learn CPR in the privacy of their own homes. It is also offered in group sessions.
The New York City Fire Department started its program back in 2005. In one year, the department trained 13,000 people in schools and community organizations.
The kit is offered in the program to the participants to take home and to train their parents, grandparents and other friends and family members, according to AHA community strategies manager Kathryn DiPuppo.
"It’s an excellent way to train large numbers of people helping the community to become heart safe," DiPuppo said. ••
An Infant CPR Anytime kit will be available later this month. To purchase a CPR Anytime kit, learn about organizing a group training session or for more information, call 1-877-242-4277 or check out www.cpranytime.org
Reporter Diane Villano can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com

Statistics from the
American Heart Association

• Each year, cardiovascular disease and sudden cardiac arrest claim the lives of 335,000 Americans before they reach a hospital.
• The average age of victims of sudden cardiac arrest is 63.
• Almost 80 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home around family and friends.
• Only 6 percent survive a cardiac arrest.
• For every minute someone is suffering the attack, his chance of survival is decreased by 10 percent. Without CPR, his chances decrease by 20 percent every minute. ••