CPR training event scheduled

Residents in Santa Clarita can learn CPR Thursday in a county-wide event sponsored by the American Heart Association and the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency.

Ten-minute training sessions will be held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at three locations in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The CPR sessions are being held at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, the Jo Anne Darcy Library in Canyon Country, and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. Sessions at the latter location are being taught by American Medical Response.

Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR for cardiac arrest at home, at work or in public.

Hands-Only CPR has just two easy steps, performed in this order: (1) call 911 if you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse; and (2) push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute.

Song examples include “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.

Residents can also visit heart.org/handsonlycpr to watch a 90-second Hands-Only CPR instructional video.

According to AHA, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States. About 90 percent of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die.

CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. Seventy percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes.