American Heart Association Announces Lifesaving Video 'Rules of Hands-Only CPR' Featuring the Cast of "Rules of Engagement"

DALLAS, Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The cast of the CBS hit series "Rules of Engagement" has teamed up with the American Heart Association to release a new digital video "Rules of Hands-Only CPR." Filmed in the style of the sitcom, the short asks Americans to learn the life-saving skill of Hands-Only CPR and can be viewed at YouTube.com/HandsOnlyCPR. Supported by a $4.5 million grant from the WellPoint Foundation, the campaign will contribute to the American Heart Association's goal to double survival from cardiac arrest by 2020.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-heart-association-announces-lifesaving-video-rules-of-hands-only-cpr-featuring-the-cast-of-rules-of-engagement-173940301.html

The Bee Gees' classic "Stayin' Alive" – which is the near-perfect rate for doing chest compressions during CPR – remains the centerpiece of the association's Hands-Only CPR awareness campaign. "Rules of Hands-Only CPR" imagines a casual dinner conversation between two couples as they discuss the reasons for learning Hands-Only CPR. Newly engaged sweethearts, Adam & Jennifer (Oliver Hudson, Bianca Kajlich) assist their enthusiastic friend Audrey (Megyn Price) in teaching her macho husband, Jeff (Patrick Warburton), the simple steps to save a life.  Just as the scene is coming to a close, Timmy (Adhir Kalyan) bursts in in his finest white disco suit.

"Hands-Only CPR has just two easy steps. There's no excuse not to learn this life-saving skill," said Megyn Price, Rules of Engagement cast member. "If a teen or adult suddenly collapses, call 9-1-1 and then push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of "Stayin' Alive" until help arrives."

Nearly 400,000 Americans suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year, and almost 90 percent die because they don't receive immediate CPR from someone on the scene. When begun immediately, CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival.

"People feel more confident performing Hands-Only CPR and are more likely to remember the correct compression rate when trained to the beat of 'Stayin' Alive,'" said Alston Inaba, M.D., the American Heart Association CPR instructor credited with first using the song to help students recall the right rate of compressions. "Not only is it a fun, catchy and memorable way to remember what to do, but it works – people's lives have been saved because of it."

Hands-Only CPR Campaign Elements
The campaign uses entertainment and humor to deliver serious lifesaving messages through the launch of TV and radio public service announcements, digital promotions, a one-minute animated Hands-Only CPR "how to" video and a multi-city mobile CPR training tour.

• CPR mobile tour
  A first for the organization, the state-of-the-art interactive CPR mobile tour will visit at least 24 cities over the next three years to teach thousands of people the easy steps to save a life.  In 2012, trainings are being held in New York City; Albany, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; Atlanta; Indianapolis; and four cities in California: Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego.
• Hands-Only CPR "How To" Video
  This one-minute animated video walks viewers through the easy steps of Hands-Only CPR YouTube.com/HandsOnlyCPR.
• PSA
  In the PSA, Jennifer Coolidge (CBS' "Two Broke Girls" and numerous films such as "Best in Show", "American Pie" and "Legally Blonde") struts to "Stayin' Alive" as she recounts the simple steps to help save a life, ignoring interruptions from many – presumably because EVERYONE around her knows Hands-Only CPR. To watch the PSA and a 60-second "how-to" video on using Hands-Only CPR to help save a life, hustle to heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR or facebook.com/AHACPR.

To learn more about the Hands-Only CPR campaign and tour, hustle to heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America's No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. As part of our dedication to save lives, we are setting out to train all Americans in lifesaving Hands-Only CPR. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.

About WellPoint Foundation
The WellPoint Foundation is the philanthropic arm of WellPoint, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of WellPoint, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that WellPoint, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation, please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.

About Rules of Engagement
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT is a comedy about the different phases of male/female relationships, as seen through the eyes of an engaged couple, Adam and Jennifer (Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich); a long-time married pair, Jeff and Audrey (Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price); a single guy on the prowl, Russell (David Spade); and his office assistant, Timmy (Adhir Kalyan).  As they find out, the often confusing stages of a relationship can seem like being on a roller coaster: people can describe them to you, but to really know what it's like, you have to take a ride for yourself.

The series debuted on CBS on February 5, 2007, and is produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions and CBS Television Studios  in association with  Sony Pictures Television.

Accredited Media Inquiries Only:
Kate Lino, American Heart Association
O: 214-706-1325; C: 214-274-4389
[email protected]

Kailyn Finnegan, Edelman
O: 212-704-8118
[email protected]
Note: Vendor or solicitation calls will not be returned

Editor's Note: Following is the URL and embed code for the new American Heart Association digital short "Rules of Hands-Only CPR," featuring the cast of CBS' Rules of Engagement:

URL: http://youtu.be/m4eVr441SEA

Embed: <iframe width="960" height="720" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m4eVr441SEA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

SOURCE American Heart Association