The 13th annual "Be a Heart Starter!" training day will be held on May 4, 2013, at the Cajundome in Lafayette.

This nationally recognized event has been training Acadiana residents for the past 12 years in bystander CPR. Since 2000, nearly 15,000 people in all have been trained; 1,538 people were trained last year, the second largest turnout.

Officials with the program say since the event came to the area the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest in Acadiana has shot up from one percent to over 30 percent. Officials also point out seventy-five percent of all sudden cardiac arrests happen at home and many times no one knows how to administer CPR.

Dr. Charles Wyatt, event founder and medical director, encourages you to register for this year's event, even if you have taken the course before:

You never know when CPR training can save a friend or family member.

Robert Barron, Lafayette Fire Department Specialist, tells "Mornings With Ken and Bernie",

'Be A Heart Starter!' is a free event open to anyone middle school-age or older who wants to learn CPR. Two-hour sessions will be held at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Advanced registration is requested by calling toll-free 877-242-4277 or online at www.heartstarter.org. In addition to CPR training there will be demonstrations on administering CPR to an infant and child along with how an automatic external defibrillator (AED) works in saving a victim’s life. There will be special training table areas for participants who are not able to kneel comfortably during training.  Also, a segment of the course will focus on stroke recognition.

Here more of details with Barron by clicking here:

Each participant will receive a “Be A Heart Starter!” T-shirt, a training course participation certificate and more.

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