Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes dysfunctional conditions of the heart, arteries and veins that supply oxygen to vital life-sustaining areas of the body like the brain, the heart and other vital organs.

Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, is the top killer in country, causing about 1 million deaths annually. In 2000, it was responsible for 36 percent or 15,000 deaths in Louisiana.

Louisiana's cardiovascular disease death rate is 10 percent higher than the national average.

Cardiovascular disease is not limited to the elderly. In 2000, 21 percent of Louisianans who died from the disease were younger than 65 years old.

Sudden cardiac death from coronary heart disease occurs more than 680 times a day in the United States.

Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm that can result from heart attack, respiratory arrest, electrocution, drowning, choking or trauma or it can have no known cause.

Brain death starts to occur within four to six minutes within a cardiac arrest victim.

Survival is directly linked to the amount of time between the onset of sudden cardiac arrest and defibrillation. Chances of survival are reduced 7 to 10 percent with every minute of delay. Few attempts at resuscitation are successful after 10 minutes.

About 80 percent of all sudden cardiac arrests happen at home.

Bystander CPR helps maintain vital blood flow to the head and brain until defibrillation can be administered.

The use of effective bystander CPR nearly doubles a victim's chance for surviving sudden cardiac arrest.