American Heart Association
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Originally formed in New York City in 1924 as the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, it is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency.
History of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
In 1963 cardiologist Leonard Scherlis started the American Heart Association's CPR Committee, and in the same year, the Heart Association formally endorsed CPR. In May 1966 the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences convened an ad hoc conference on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The conference was the direct result of requests from the American National Red Cross and other agencies to establish standardized training and performance standards for CPR. Over 30 national organizations were represented at the conference. Recommendations from this conference were reported in JAMA in 1966.