If a friend or family member falls victim to cardiac arrest, would you know what to do?

"Keep the Beat," a not-for-profit event, targets the Bayou Region to educate residents from Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes in basic lifesaving techniques. Although South Louisiana has one of the highest incidences of heart and vascular disease, many in the area do not know how to perform CPR.

The statistics are bleak. Only one in 20 people know CPR, yet cardiovascular disease is the top killer in the country, and Louisiana has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world. In fact, cardiovascular disease claims 2,400 lives each day.

Nearly 300,000 people fall victim to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the U.S. each year, but only 30% of these victims receive CPR. And about 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before they reach the hospital! Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim's chance of survival.

Learn how to safe a life by taking this free bystander CPR class. Click the register button above or call 1-877-288-0011 to attend.

(Statistics taken from American Heart Association, 2006)