The American Heart Association, National Football League, and Damar Hamlin's Chasing M's Foundation will conduct a mass Hands-Only CPR training event for thousands of participants during the second day of the NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on April 24, 2026. This initiative aims to address a critical public health gap: while immediate CPR can double or triple survival chances during cardiac arrest, more than half of people who collapse outside hospitals do not receive bystander intervention.
Registration for the free training is available at heart.org/NFLDraft. The event represents a strategic effort to leverage the NFL Draft's massive audience to disseminate lifesaving skills that participants are most likely to use on family members or acquaintances, given that nearly three out of four out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in homes.
"Every second matters when someone experiences cardiac arrest and knowing how to perform CPR can be the difference between life and death," said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown. The collaboration builds upon the Nation of Lifesavers movement launched after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest during a 2023 Monday Night Football game. Hamlin, who serves as National Ambassador for the initiative, stated, "As my experience with cardiac arrest has shown, CPR saves lives."
The statistics underscore the urgency: over 90% of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest without immediate CPR do not survive. Hands-Only CPR requires no formal training and can be learned in approximately 90 seconds, making large-scale training events particularly impactful for improving survival rates. The technique involves calling 911 and performing chest compressions at 100-120 beats per minute to a depth of about two inches.
Beyond the draft event, the NFL-AHA partnership operates year-round through the NFL Foundation, which provides CPR grants to all teams for local community training and automated external defibrillator (AED) access. Since 2023, these grants have supported Hands-Only CPR training, credentialing programs, and placement of CPR kits in schools and youth sports organizations. The American Heart Association has collaborated with more than half of NFL teams to educate players, staff, coaches, and families.
Hands-Only CPR education is also integrated into the NFL PLAY 60 youth wellness program through the Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge, teaching children and families to recognize cardiac arrest and perform chest compressions. Anna Isaacson, NFL SVP of Social Responsibility, emphasized the league's commitment to "building safer, stronger communities by giving people the knowledge and confidence to act in a medical emergency."
Additional Hands-Only CPR resources are available at www.heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR and information about the Nation of Lifesavers movement can be found at www.heart.org/nation.
