The World Restart a Heart (WRAH) initiative of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation is saving more lives by spreading the message of two important themes ‒ “ALL CITIZENS CAN SAVE A LIFE!” and “IT ONLY TAKES TWO HANDS TO SAVE A LIFE!” ‒ to more than 50 million citizens of the world.
The number of laypeople who undertake Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training has increased considerably since 2018, when the WRAH initiative was first launched,1 engaging 13 million people worldwide. In 2021, 200 million individuals (including social media reach) were involved.2 In 2022, WRAH engaged over 50 million citizens from 194 countries (Table 1). This was achieved by including over 630,000 face-to-face training, participation in witnessed live in-person demos, and attending webinars, as online readers, written readers, and television and radio audiences (Table 2). This data, which by its nature will be an approximation, has been reported and verified by national resuscitation councils from around the world. Social media campaign networks had a significant additional impact on sudden cardiac arrest and CPR awareness.
World Restart a Heart collaborators, related institutions and countries.
AHA, American Heart Association; ERC, European Resuscitation Council; GRC, German Resuscitation Council; HSFC, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada; IAHF, Inter-American Heart Foundation; IFRC, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; ILCOR, International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation; IRCF, Indian Resuscitation Council Federation; KSLB, Kids Save Lives Brazil; PARC, Pan Arab Resuscitation Council; RCA, Resuscitation Councils of Asia; UAE, United Arab Emirates; UK, United Kingdom; USA, United States of America.
World Restart a Heart: approximate numbers of people achieved in 2022.
Initiatives that combine awareness, hands-on CPR training, and the use of an external automated defibrillator may optimize bystander CPR timing, performance, and the overall quality of CPR.3 The target groups for face-to-face or remote CPR training are diverse and include all age groups and people from many different professional backgrounds. With specific regard to the training of children, adjustments should be made according to age range because of different physical abilities and cognitive aspects. For instance, the main objective for young children (4 years and older) would be recognition of a situation where the person does not respond and thereafter calls for help. They should know the emergency telephone number and give essential information.4 For children aged above 10‒12 years old, high-quality CPR and the use of a defibrillator can be achieved.4
High-quality bystander CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest may significantly reduce the risks of brain damage, nursing home admission, or death of all causes.5 In this context, every year WRAH plays a relevant role as an annual awareness campaign worldwide of sudden cardiac arrest and CPR. And now, by reaching more citizens of the world, WRAH thus aims to save more lives with high-quality layperson CPR.