Media Advisory - Photo-Op - Families come together this March Break to learn CPR and Save Lives

TORONTO, March 9, 2012 /CNW/ -

WHAT:	CPR Training: as children across the city prepare to spend their March Break vacationing and playing video games with friends, families in the Warden Woods area will be learning how to save a life at a free Friends and Family CPR Training Clinic sponsored by the Heart and Stroke Foundation in partnership with Toronto EMS, Cardiac Safe City.
	"The Heart and Stroke Foundation urges all Canadians to learn CPR. The more people trained, the greater the chance of keeping alive a person who is experiencing cardiac arrest until the paramedics arrive," says Andrew Lotto, Manager, Resuscitation Programs Heart and Stroke Foundation.  "You don't need to be a doctor to help save a life."
	"Everyone can save a life.  You never know when a friend or family member will need your help. This course gives hands on training on how to help," says Jyl McGunigal, Superintendent,Toronto EMS Safe City Program.
WHEN:	March 12 at 1:30 - 3 p.m. Photo and interview opportunity
WHERE:	Warden Woods Community Centre                        74 Firvalley Court, Scarborough
WHO:	Jyl McGunigal, Superintendant, Toronto EMS, Safe City Program                         Rosamma George, Manager, Community Development, Warden Woods

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, approximately 45,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur in Canada each year, the majority of which occur either at home or in public places. When a person is in cardiac arrest, seconds count. When CPR is combined with the use of an AED in those early minutes, an individual's chance of surviving a cardiac arrest increases to up to 75%. Without CPR and defibrillation, fewer than five per cent of people who have a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living, and advocacy.

Reena Kudhail 
Specialist, Resuscitation Programs Communications 
Heart and Stroke Foundation 
Phone: [phone] ext. 736 
Email: [email protected]

Kim McKinnon 
Superintendent Public Information & Media 
Toronto Emergency Medical Services 
[email protected] 
Office: 416-392-2255 
Cell:  416-995-1371