Falcons and American Heart Association Champion CPR Training to Save Lives

The Atlanta Falcons and the American Heart Association have joined forces during National CPR and AED Week to equip players and coaches with lifesaving CPR skills, aiming to combat the high mortality rate from sudden cardiac arrests outside hospitals. Highlighting the critical importance of immediate CPR, which can double or triple survival chances, the initiative is part of the broader Nation of Lifesavers™ movement targeting a doubling of cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030. The partnership gains personal significance through the story of Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, who saved a three-year-old boy's life using CPR skills learned just days before. This event marks the first CPR save linked to the collaboration between the American Heart Association and the NFL, underscoring the tangible impact of CPR education.

Further emphasizing the importance of widespread CPR knowledge, the American Heart Association, a leader in resuscitation science, advocates for compression-only CPR as a simple yet effective method everyone can learn. The NFL's Smart Heart Sports Coalition, in collaboration with major sports leagues and the American Heart Association, seeks to implement life-saving policies for student-athletes across all 50 states, addressing the leading cause of death among this group. With resources and training readily available, the initiative calls on the public to prepare themselves to act in critical moments, potentially saving lives in their communities.