Dakota County to hold CPR training at Burnsville Center

Heart Restart: 

Get hands on training that could save a life during the Dakota County Heart Restart Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Survival Program at Burnsville Center. The training will be held Saturday, Oct. 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the lower level, Macy's Court.

First responders and survivors of sudden cardiac arrest will provide free training for groups every 15 minutes. The training familiarizes people with basic CPR skills that may help them revive a person who experiences sudden cardiac arrest. The course does not offer certificates or course-completion cards. Door prizes include American Red Cross emergency radios and CPR kits that include a DVD, instructions and a blow-up manikin to reinforce the training or allow people to share what they've learned with others.

The event is sponsored by the Dakota County EMS Council and Take Heart Minnesota. Both have goals to improve the survival rate of victims who suffer out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. They are also working to place automatic external defibrillators in residential communities and in public places and improving techniques of professional rescuers. For more information, visit www.takeheartminnesota.org.

With a goal of teaching CPR to 10 percent of residents by 2012, the group is increasing community awareness and increasing the chances of survival for victims of sudden cardiac arrest in Dakota County.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the U.S. with 330,000 deaths each year. In 2008, 4,500 cases were reported in Minnesota alone.

For more information please contact Marty Forseth, Dakota County EMS Coordinator, 651-554-6110 or marty.forseth@co.dakota.mn.us.