Staff Reports
This past week the Florida Department of Health celebrated World Heart Day with 5K Walk/Runs and Hands-Only™ CPR trainings held in every county. Statewide, the department engaged with nearly 50,000 people across Florida to create heart healthy environments.
“This week we saw a tremendous response from Floridians across the state taking action to keep hearts beating in Florida,” said State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong.
“Tens of thousands of people took steps towards improving their heart health at our 5K walk/runs and nearly 20,000 residents trained in Hands-Only™ CPR now have the tools to save lives during a cardiac emergency.”
In Florida, 23.4 percent of adults age 65 and older reported in 2013 that they had been told by a health care provider 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.
On Sept. 26, 29,591 people participated in 5K walk/runs hosted in each of Florida’s 67 counties and on World Heart Day, Sept. 29, 19,461 people were trained in Hands-Only™ CPR.
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:
- Call 9-1-1 (or send someone to do that); and
- Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.
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 any of these videos for a brief overview of Hands Only™ CPR.
The department will continue to build on this year’s success by hosting World Heart Day events statewide annually.
