RENO — As part of National CPR and AED Awareness Week beginning today, the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) will be asking bystanders if they know what to do in an emergency.

Community members visiting one of the high traffic locations during the week will be taught how to respond to sudden cardiac arrest as well as how to do effective “hands-only” CPR.

REMSA has partnered with local businesses during the week where they will conduct the “Sidewalk CPR” trainings. The week’s training calendar is as follows:

• Today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (490 So. Center St., Reno).

• Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Summit Sierra Mall Farmers’ Market (13925 South Virginia St., Reno) and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Scheels (1200 Scheels Dr., Sparks).

• Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Squeeze In (25 Foothill Blvd., Reno).

• Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Whole Foods (6139 South Virginia St., Reno).

• Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Summit Sierra Mall Farmers’ Market (13925 South Virginia St., Reno).

• Thursday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Whole Foods Sparks Farmers Market (Victorian Square Plaza, Sparks).

REMSA will have manikins and educators to teach participants how to properly conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with only using their hands in case of an emergency. The CPR training is not an official certification course, but is instead an awareness course. “The more people we have in our community that know how to recognize an emergency and do CPR, the more lives we can save,” said JW Hodge, REMSA’s education manager. “With 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occurring at home, it is crucial that more community members are prepared to respond. CPR is one way we will be able to increase the chances of survival for victims in our community.”

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the country. Everyone should know how to perform CPR in an emergency. Immediate, effective CPR could more than double a victim’s chance of survival.

More than 300,000 people will die from coronary heart disease this year before reaching the hospital. Victims that receive immediate CPR and a shock from an AED within three to five minutes have up to a 74 percent chance of survival.

Currently, less than eight percent of victims survive due to lack of CPR and AED use across the country.

For more information or questions, contact REMSA at 775-858-5700 or online at remsaeducation.com.