Efforts grow across Alabama to improve CPR training as survival rates lag behind nation

As Alabama continues to face one of the lowest cardiac arrest survival rates in the country, community leaders in Birmingham and Huntsville are stepping up efforts to train more residents in lifesaving CPR techniques.

According to the American Heart Association, only three percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive in Alabama, compared to a 10 percent national average. The statistic underscores a critical need for better public awareness and training statewide, said MaryClaire McCarthy with the AHA, who noted that “training the Huntsville community in CPR is a way we’re trying to combat that statistic”, according to WAFF.

McCarthy added that more than 350,000 Americans die each year from cardiac arrest, with 70 percent of incidents occurring at home—often b