FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IN LAKE COUNTY CELEBRATES WORLD HEART DAY  

Lake County– In celebration of World Heart Day, September 29, the Florida Department of Health in Lake County is promoting heart health by hosting Hands-Only™ CPR training. World Heart Day is an annual event created by the World Heart Foundation to remind everyone that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading causes of death. The theme for 2015 is creating heart healthy environments.

“This year we are partnering with Triangle YMCA and Lake Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to provide our community with Hands-Only CPR training.  We want our residents to know what to do in a situation if someone around them needed CPR.   ” said Aaron Kissler, Administrator with the Florida Department of Health in Lake County.

In Florida, 23.4 percent of adults age 65 and older reported in 2013 that they had been told by a healthcare provider that they had a heart attack, coronary heart disease or stroke. Heart disease was the leading cause of death in Florida in 2014 and is the number one killer of women, taking more lives than all forms of cancer combined.

“As a woman in my 40s, I am often warned about breast cancer and the importance of regular mammograms, but rarely do I hear that far more women are killed or hospitalized from heart-related diseases.  I am grateful to World Heart Day for putting this important message in the forefront” said Lori Humphrey, Project Manager Lake Co. Shared Services Network.

Hands-Only™ CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by people who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an “out-of-hospital” setting (such as at home, at work or in a park). It consists of two easy steps:

1. Call 9-1-1 (or send someone to do that); and
2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.

In 2011, over 300,000 people experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States; that is an average of 1 death every 40 seconds. Of those treated by with bystander CPR, the survival tripled. http://www.theheartfoundation.org/heart-disease-facts/heart-disease-statistics/ Come and join us in learning this simple lifesaving technique” said Mike Hilliard, Captain and Training Officer with Lake Emergency Medical Services.

Hands-Only™ CPR performed by a bystander has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR with mouth-to-mouth breaths in the first few minutes of sudden cardiac arrest. Watch these videos for a brief overview of Hands Only™ CPR.

 About the Florida Department of Health

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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