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Almost 23,000 people have started to learn CPR in just the first week of the Sky Bet–British Heart Foundation (BHF) ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign.
Launched on 1 May, the pair teamed up with several footballers who have been impacted by life-threatening heart conditions. The duo set the aim of urging more than a quarter of a million people to learn life-saving CPR.
Former international stars Graeme Souness, David Ginola and Glenn Hoddle took their places alongside Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer as the companies unveiled the campaign at Wembley Stadium.
Lockyer said on the latest figures: “The response we’ve seen to the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign is nothing short of transformational.
“The numbers speak for themselves, in just seven days we’ve inspired thousands of people to go online and start learning CPR – that’s thousands of people who could one day go on to save a life.”
The Luton Town captain collapsed during last year’s Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final, and survived a cardiac arrest in December.
He added: “If I’ve learned anything in the last 12 months, it’s that it’s impossible to overstate the importance of learning CPR – I simply wouldn’t be here if the people around me hadn’t acted promptly to administer CPR and defibrillation when I collapsed.
The overall aim is to recruit 270,000 people to learn CPR over the next 12 months, as the BHF cited research that showed there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, equating to at least five every 90 minutes.
Separately, Sky Bet has also pledged £150,000 so far to support the BHF’s vital work, with the figure based on the goals scored by teams in the first week of action in the Sky Bet Play-Offs. Sky Bet wants to raise up to £3m over the course of the campaign.
BHF Chief Executive, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, added: “Our partnership with Sky Bet has the clear goal of saving lives – and it’s fantastic that nearly 23,000 people have used RevivR to begin learning lifesaving skills just one week since we’ve launched.
“Every minute matters when someone has a cardiac arrest, and being able to step in and perform CPR could be the difference between life and death. That’s why along with Sky Bet we’re urging everyone to take 15 minutes – the length of a half-time interval – to learn this skill through RevivR.”
The course requires no medical experience and ‘can be completed with just a mobile phone and a cushion to practise on’. After completing the training, 97% of users feel confident enough to give CPR and use a defibrillator, according to SkyBet.
