Mass CPR Training in Mall of America Rotunda

Medtronic Foundation teams up with Take Heart™ Minnesota to Help Save Lives From Sudden Cardiac Arrest

(Bloomington) – Mall of America shoppers can save more than just money at this weekend’s sales; they also can learn how to save lives from Sudden Cardiac Arrest during mass CPR training in the Mall of America Rotunda.

Medtronic Foundation and Take Heart™ Minnesota, a group that is working to build community awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), today announced they will offer mass CPR trainings every 15 minutes from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday to raise awareness about SCA and empower Minnesotans to use CPR to save lives from this leading cause of death in America.

SCA is the leading cause of death in Minnesota; more than 4,500 cases of SCA were reported in Minnesota in 2008 (an average of 12.5 incidences per day).
Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, killing more Americans than lung cancer, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS combined.

What:
Local first responders and survivors will provide CPR and AED training and life-saving information to Mall of America visitors; each participant will be trained on a training dummy.

When:
Saturday, July 31, 2010
10:00am – 4:00pm

Where:
Mall of America – Rotunda
60 East Broadway
Bloomington, MN 55425

Who:
Sudden cardiac arrest survivors, rescuers and representatives from Take Heart™ Minnesota will be available for interviews and demonstrations.

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Often mistakenly referred to as a heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart abruptly stops without warning. Most sudden cardiac arrest episodes are caused by the rapid and/or chaotic activity of the heart known as ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF). These are abnormalities of the heart’s electrical conduction system.

SCA is the leading cause of death in the U.S. More than 250,000 Americans die each year from this condition.

Cardiac arrest is reversible in most victims if it’s treated within minutes, but the only effective treatment is the delivery of an electrical shock, either with an automated external defibrillator (AED), or with a stop watch-sized implantable defibrillator.

About Take Heart America™
Take Heart America™ was founded by a network of visionaries who recognized that a coordinated, comprehensive approach to resuscitation therapies would substantially increase sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survival rates beyond the benefits achieved with individual therapies alone. The initial results from St. Cloud, Minn. and Anoka County, Minn. have been remarkably successful.

Building community awareness is paramount to the Take Heart America™ strategy for saving lives. Teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and encouraging those who have been trained to act when necessary can significantly increase an SCA victim’s chance of survival. The strategy to deploy automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in residential communities and public places along with improving the resuscitation techniques of professional rescuers will also increase the chances for the victim to survive and resume a productive life. Take Heart America™ strategies involve working with hospitals to develop clear procedures for ensuring optimal hospital treatment and post-resuscitation care for each SCA survivor.

Learn more at http://www.takeheartminnesota.org/