Project Heart Start training coming to The Pit
Project Heart Start teaches citizens scientifically-backed, compression-only CPR
The threat of cardiac arrest is omnipresent.
We saw it on TV when Damar Hamlin’s collapsed after a tackle last year and recently a 17-yearold Rio Grand High School student tragically died while running. These high-profile events catch our attention, but more than 80% of these arrests occur at home, where immediate response is critical.
Contrast this with casinos, where prompt
CPR and AED interventions have led to survival rates hitting 90%. In contrast, Kansas City’s recent report highlights a gap in our readiness: only 42% of those experiencing cardiac arrests at home receive bystander CPR, and AEDs are deployed in fewer than 1% of cases.
This lack of immediate action has dire consequences, with survival rates less than 10%. Project Heart Start (PHS) is here for New Mexicans to overturn these grim statistics by teaching citizens scientifically backed, compression-only CPR.
When faced with someone collapsed and unresponsive, the PHS-trained bystander knows to call 911 and start chest compressions — hard and fast in the center of the chest. This one-hour course, called compression-only CPR, dispenses with pulse checks that waste time. Checking for breathing and rescue breathing (the ugh factor) are not part of this streamlined course, eliminating impediments to administering CPR.
Why is this method transformative? Because bystanders are far more likely to imitate CPR when they can remember 3 simple steps. Thankfully, the Good Samaritan Law provides legal cover, encouraging bystanders to step in. Already, PHS has equipped over 130,000 New Mexicans with these lifesaving techniques.
The Project Heart Start initiative is not only a campaign against sudden cardiac arrest but also a preventive strike against heart attacks, empowering individuals to act before tragedy strikes. Recognizing the early signals of a heart attack is crucial, given that half of these emergencies prove fatal prior to hospital arrival. The PHS curriculum focuses on these critical early indicators, enabling individuals to swiftly dial emergency services at the onset of symptoms. Additionally,
the program provides demonstrations on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and trains on saving a choking victim.
On April 20, ‘The Pit’ at UNM becomes the venue for this transformative training, with medical experts and student athletes ready to instruct a new cohort of lifesavers. Sponsored by cumulus broadcasting, KOAT TV, the Albuquerque Journal and the NM Heart Institute, The Pit at UNM becomes the venue for this transformative training, with medical experts and student athletes ready to instruct a new cohort of lifesavers. This event is a community-wide initiative to shift how we respond in an emergency. Participants in PHS will leave with:
The knowledge to maintain circulation through effective chest compressions.
Confidence in AED usage to significantly increase survival odds.
The ability to recognize and act on heart attack symptoms.
Choking aid proficiency, another critical life-saving skill
These tools and techniques are invaluable. They ensure that when a cardiac emergency unfolds, Albuquerque stands prepared, not paralyzed. We invite you to join us at UNM this April, to learn, to empower, and to commit to being the city’s lifesaving force.