One hundred to 120 beats per minute: That’s the tempo of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” but it’s also the target number needed to keep a cardiac arrest victim “stayin’ alive” as well.
So said Kristen Alouisa, executive director of the Westchester Fairfield chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA), whose Nation of Lifesavers campaign seeks to teach as many people as possible how to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
“Statistics show that nine out of 10 who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital will not survive,” she added. (Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops. A heart attack, which happens when blood flow to the heart is blocked, is different, she said, but can lead to cardiac arrest.)
However, research has shown, she added, that chest compression alone – arms straight, dominant hand over the other as you press down on the center of the cardiac arrest sufferer’s chest 100 to 120 times per minute, about the tempo of the song “Stayin’ Alive,” can save lives.
So important is the program that Damar Hamlin has partnered with it. The Buffalo Bills safety went into cardiac arrest after a freak hit during a tackle stopped his heart amid a “Monday Night Football” game (Jan. 2, 2023). Hamlin was fortunate in that within seconds first responders administered CPR and used an AED (automatic external defibrillator), which determines if the person in cardiac arrest needs an electrical shock to restore a normal heartbeat. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he remained for nine days and after rehabilitation and evaluation returned to the field on Aug. 12 of that year.
Many are not as lucky as Hamlin. “A lot of people are hesitant to jump in when someone goes into cardiac arrest,” Alouisa said. That can be particularly true when women, minorities and minority women are involved. If you see someone going into cardiac arrest, determine if the person has stopped breathing, she said, and have someone call 911 while you start chest compressions. If you are alone with the person, call 911 and keep the line open as you begin chest compressions.
Cardiovascular disease remains the No. 1 killer of men and women worldwide and In the United States, but, Alouisa said, “a lot of the treatment is designed for men.”
That’s why the AHA, a 101-year-old international organization based in Dallas, and the Westchester Fairfield Chapter hold a variety of events through the year that target women – from the Oct. 15 Westchester Fairfield Go Red for Women Executive Leadership Breakfast at Mastercard in Purchase, hosted by Cara A. Pensabene, M.D., vice president and global medical director for the company; to National Wear Red Day the first Friday in what is American Heart Month (in 2026, Feb. 6) ; to March’s Westchester Fairfield Go Red for Women Celebration, now in its 21st year.
“One of the goals of Go Red is to try to bring more men to the table to be allies for the cause,” Alouisa said.
Heart disease affects everyone in some way and that’s why education – on everything from CPR to breathing exercises, a moderate diet, physical fitness and proper sleep – is key.
“Our work,” she added, “is solution-based.”
