Cologne and Ulm. World Restart a Heart Day - the international day of resuscitation - is being celebrated today for the 8th time. Worldwide, this day - and the weeks before and after - are characterised by education and training: the aim is to train as many people as possible in resuscitation measures and to raise awareness of the importance of lay resuscitation. Because in the event of a sudden cardiovascular arrest, the first 3-5 minutes are crucial. These are decisive for survival. The emergency services usually arrive later.
The German Resuscitation Council (GRC) was one of the initiators of this initiative and plays a key role in firmly anchoring the topic of resuscitation in our society. World Restart a Heart Day is now known throughout Germany and is actively supported by numerous institutions, organisations, companies and committed individuals.
Once again this year, numerous creative and informative events took place as part of our German „Resuscitation Week“ and around today's day of action. A great deal of effort was put into demonstrating how easy it is to save lives in an emergency - true to the motto: „All you need is two hands.“
„We are incredibly proud and grateful for the fantastic participation and joint commitment,“ emphasises Professor Bernd Böttiger, Chairman of the GRC. „Thanks to these joint efforts, we are getting ever closer to our goal of saving an additional 10,000 lives per year and further increasing the lay resuscitation rate.“ A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participates, informs, trains and motivates - because together we can save many lives. „Every year, World Restart a Heart Day reminds us how essential it is to act quickly and decisively in an emergency. Everyone can save lives - with two hands and a little courage,“ concludes Böttiger.
Background: World Restart a Heart Day
Our initiative dates back to 2012: at the suggestion of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), more than half of the members of the European Parliament signed a declaration to promote lay resuscitation. The first European Restart a Heart Day then took place on 16 October 2013 under the motto „KIDS SAVE LIVES“ in over 20 European countries. With the support of the GRC, this became the global initiative „World Restart a Heart“ in 2018 under the umbrella of ILCOR (International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation). Since then, actions, training courses and information campaigns have been called for every year around 16 October worldwide in order to strengthen the resuscitation skills of the population and thus improve the survival of the many people affected.
Why resuscitation by everyone is so important Every year, over 70,000 people in Germany suffer a sudden cardiovascular arrest outside a hospital and are treated by the emergency services - only around one in ten survive. The reason: without immediate chest compressions, irreversible brain damage occurs after just three to five minutes, while the emergency services only arrive after eight to ten minutes on average.
Lay resuscitation could triple the chances of survival. In more than half of cases, there are witnesses on site who could help - if they dare. The lay resuscitation rate in Germany in 2024 was 55 %, but in Scandinavian countries it was over 80 %. If Germany were to reach this level, around 10,000 additional lives could be saved every year.