ST JOHN South Africa wants to teach South Africans how to keep our hearts beating this February, the month of love.

The legacy of St Valentine means that for the month of February, we think of our hearts – most importantly, how to keep them healthy, beating and free from disease. To this end, St John is offering CPR workshops which allow you to buy one training session for yourself and get a second one free for your loved one, just for the month of February.

CPR – cardiopulmonary resuscitation – cardio meaning heart, pulmonary meaning lungs, resuscitation meaning to revive – is an emergency life-saving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. CPR increases the chances of survival after a person’s breathing or heart stops.

CPR is easy to learn and can save a person’s life. Once learned correctly, even children can perform successful CPR on adults – and adults on children.

CPR can be used if a person is having a cardiac arrest (which occurs when the heart malfunctions and stops beating unexpectedly – an electrical problem) or a heart attack (when blood flow to the heart is blocked – a circulation problem).

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Many countries formally acknowledge February as Heart Health Awareness Month – which provides a useful focus to remind us to take care of our heart; to promote education about heart health, and it raises awareness about heart disease – as heart disease is one of the biggest causes of death globally. Heart disease can strike anyone, but certain individuals may be more at risk than others. Risk factors often develop as we age; things such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol increase the chances of having a stroke or developing heart disease.

St John has crafted an introductory CPR course which lasts two hours and teaches candidates how to identify a heart-related emergency situation, and how to perform practical CPR which can help save a life.

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For the month of February, St John is offering a two-for-one special on CPR classes: R550 per couple, per class.

The classes are being held in most major centres – contact the St John nearest to you. In Durban, courses are being held at their Old Fort Rd / KE Masinga Rd offices.

For more information, contact 031 305 6588.

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