American Heart Association, WellPoint Foundation Team Up with DJ Earworm to Teach Americans Hands-Only™ CPR through Music

DALLAS, June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Do you know the two simple steps of Hands-Only™ CPR? Then you're ready to help save a life. If you don't, then the American Heart Association and WellPoint Foundation want you to listen up.

Just in time for National CPR Awareness Week (June 1-7), the organizations are dropping a new beat on their ongoing Hands-Only CPR national awareness campaign and mobile tour with the help of the world-renowned music mixologist, DJ Earworm.

Hands-Only CPR has just two simple steps: 1) If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse, call 9-1-1; and 2) Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of the classic Bee Gees' song "Stayin' Alive."

Now, in an effort to spread this lifesaving message to a younger generation, the American Heart Association and WellPoint Foundation have collaborated with DJ Earworm to create a mash-up of other well-known songs that has the right rate to guide compressions for Hands-Only CPR, and coincidentally, have a lifesaving message.

Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death with over 420,000 out-of-hospital cases occurring every year in the United States. When a teen or adult has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. Survival rates drop as much as 10 percent for every minute that goes by without intervention. The Bees Gees' hit song "Stayin' Alive" and Earworm's new "Hands-Only CPR Mash-Up" have rates of at least 100 beats per minute, the same rate recommended for performing Hands-Only CPR.

"The Bee Gees' 'Stayin' Alive' has played a significant role in helping raise awareness about Hands-Only CPR." said Dr. Michael Sayre, Professor, Emergency Medicine, University of Washington. "Its beats per minute coupled with its lifesaving lyrics have helped guide thousands in training for Hands-Only CPR. Now, in the third year of our campaign, we've realized other songs with similar qualities could have the same impact in helping us raise awareness among more bystanders including younger generations. With over 420,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests occurring annually in the U.S., we want to equip as many people as we can with lifesaving CPR skills."

In fact, Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be equally as effective as CPR with breaths, and people are more likely to feel comfortable performing it. A December 2012 study published in the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation found that Hands-Only CPR performed by bystanders keeps more people alive with good brain function after experiencing a cardiac arrest. According to the American Heart Association, people feel more confident performing Hands-Only CPR and are more likely to remember the correct rhythm when trained to the beat of a familiar song.

With the support of the WellPoint Foundation, the American Heart Association launched a 3-year national campaign and mobile tour in June 2012 to raise awareness of Hands-Only CPR as a lifesaving method and to increase the likelihood of people performing CPR in an emergency. The interactive Hands-Only CPR mobile tour has trained over 16,000 people and will round out its third year visiting the last eight cities of the 24 city tour that has driven across the country to teach thousands of people the easy steps to save a life. To find out when the mobile tour is stopping in your city, please visit: http://www.heart.org/handsonlycpr.

"Regardless of whether you like to listen to music on eight-track or online, we want you to have the power to save a life," said Lance Chrisman, executive director of the WellPoint Foundation. "DJ Earworm's contribution to this campaign will give a whole new group of people the confidence they need to take action if they witness a cardiac event."

As part of the third year of the national Hands-Only CPR campaign, the American Heart Association debuted the new "Hands-Only CPR Mash-Up" along with digital promotions and a one-minute Hands-Only CPR demo video to train Americans in the lifesaving technique.

• Hands-Only CPR Demo Video
  Eighty percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in private or residential settings. The life you save with CPR will most likely be a loved one. Would you be prepared to act if someone you love or a stranger collapses from cardiac arrest? Watch and learn the simple steps to help save a life with Hands-Only CPR. If you know the two steps to Hands-Only CPR, you're ready to help save a life.
• Hands-Only CPR Lifesaver Mash-Up
  Hands-Only CPR has just two simple steps. If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse,
  (1) Call 9-1-1; and
  (2) Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of the disco song "Stayin' Alive" or this lifesaving "Hands-Only CPR Mash-Up."

To learn more about the Hands-Only CPR campaign and get ready to save a life visit www.heart.org/handsonlycpr or facebook.com/AHACPR.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America's No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. As part of our dedication to save lives, we are setting out to train all Americans in lifesaving Hands-Only CPR. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.

About WellPoint Foundation
The WellPoint Foundation is the philanthropic arm of WellPoint, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of WellPoint, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that WellPoint, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation, please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.

Accredited Media Inquiries Only:
Kailey Shatzer, American Heart Association
O: 214-706-1538
[email protected]  

Kailyn Finnegan, Edelman
O: 212-704-8118
[email protected]

Scott Larrivee, WellPoint Foundation
O: 262-523-4746
[email protected]

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Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-AHA-CPR-Wellpoint.mp4
Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-AHA-Mash-Up-Video.mp4
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140530/92928
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140530/92929
Audio - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/FX-AHA-Hands-Only-CPR-Mash-UP.mp3

SOURCE American Heart Association