NFL Players Lead CPR Awareness Campaign on World Restart a Heart Day

The American Heart Association and National Football League have unveiled the 2025 Nation of Lifesavers Player Ambassador Class, consisting of 30 current NFL players dedicated to promoting CPR education on World Restart a Heart Day. This initiative represents a significant public health effort to address the alarming statistics surrounding sudden cardiac arrest, where over half of victims outside hospitals don't receive immediate CPR, leading to a 90% fatality rate.

The ambassador class includes players from across the league, with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin serving as National Ambassador. The timing of this announcement carries particular significance, as it coincides with the Thursday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, where World Restart a Heart Day will be observed through free Hands-Only CPR education and recognition of bystander CPR heroes.

This partnership matters because cardiac arrest remains a leading cause of death nationwide, with nearly three out of four incidents occurring in homes. The collaboration between the NFL and American Heart Association leverages the platform of professional sports to reach millions of Americans with a simple, life-saving message: learning Hands-Only CPR takes just 90 seconds and can double or triple survival chances. Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association, emphasized the critical nature of this initiative, stating that immediate CPR can mean the difference between life and death when someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest.

The program's impact extends beyond awareness campaigns. The NFL Foundation provides CPR grants to each team to increase CPR and AED access in communities. These grants have funded Hands-Only CPR training, credentialing programs, and placement of CPR kits in schools and youth sports organizations. Since 2023, more than half of NFL teams have hosted American Heart Association trainings, better preparing communities to respond to cardiac emergencies where people live, work, and play.

This marks the second annual ambassador class, building on momentum generated after Damar Hamlin's sudden cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football in 2023. The incident brought national attention to the importance of immediate medical response and sparked the Nation of Lifesavers movement. The American Heart Association, as the global leader in CPR education publishing official guidelines for over 60 years, has committed to doubling survival rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by 2030 through this collaboration.

The initiative also integrates with youth health programs through NFL PLAY 60 efforts in schools, where Hands-Only CPR education becomes a key component of the Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge. Students and families learn to recognize cardiac emergencies, call 911, and perform chest compressions at 100-120 beats per minute. This educational approach addresses another critical concern: cardiac arrest among student-athletes, which accounts for about 40% of the more than 23,000 annual cardiac incidents involving children under 18 outside hospitals.

Additional resources for learning CPR are available at https://www.heart.org/nation and https://www.heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR. The American Heart Association also participates in the Smart Heart Sports Coalition established by the NFL, advocating for evidence-based public policies across all 50 states to prevent fatal outcomes from cardiac arrest among high school students.