The Buffalo Bills are entering the third year of their HeartBEAT initiative with the American Heart Association, providing free compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training across Western New York. As part of the five-year, $1 million commitment, the program will offer hands-on CPR education at multiple community events, including the Buffalo Public Schools Summit, Buffalo Bills Training Camp, Buffalo CycleNation, and a HeartBEAT Game Day at Highmark Stadium.
The initiative was launched in 2023 following the sudden cardiac arrest of Bills player Damar Hamlin during Monday Night Football, with the goal of creating more lifesavers in the community. Recent survey data indicates progress, with the percentage of adults feeling confident to perform CPR increasing from 30% to 35% between 2021 and 2023. A key component of the program involves distributing 200 CPR and First Aid in Youth Sports training kits throughout Western New York. Each kit can potentially train approximately 300 people annually, with 62 kits already placed in the community during the first two years.
The urgency of the program is underscored by national cardiac arrest statistics: more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside hospitals annually in the United States, with nearly 75% happening in homes. Hands-Only CPR has been demonstrated to be as effective as conventional CPR in the critical first minutes of a cardiac emergency. Megan Vargulick, Western New York executive director of the American Heart Association, emphasized the life-saving potential of the program, stating that knowing how to respond in a cardiac emergency can mean the difference between life and death.
The program's expansion comes at a critical time when community preparedness for cardiac emergencies remains essential. The distribution of training kits represents a scalable approach to increasing CPR knowledge across diverse settings, particularly in youth sports environments where sudden cardiac events can occur. The partnership between the Buffalo Bills and the American Heart Association serves as a model for how professional sports organizations can leverage their community influence to address public health challenges.
The increasing confidence levels among Western New York residents to perform CPR suggests the program is making measurable progress toward its goal of creating more lifesavers in the community. As the initiative enters its third year, the continued focus on hands-on training at accessible community events ensures that life-saving skills reach populations who might not otherwise receive formal CPR education. The program's emphasis on compression-only CPR aligns with current medical recommendations that simplify the response process for bystanders during cardiac emergencies.
