Be the Beat, the American Heart Association's online cardiac arrest awareness campaign, teaches teens the basics of CPR and AED use through video games,interactive quizzes, and songs.

Among the resources available on the site are:

* A set of instructional videos that illustrate conventional CPR with rescue breathing, Hands-Only CPR and and the use of an AED.

* A "virtual tour" through a 3-D animation of the heart. Kids can earn points by playing video games and taking interactive quizzes.

* The "World of Hearts", where users create unique avatars, track and compare their scores with others, and view profiles and testimonies of other participants.

* A downloadable playlist of 100-beat-per-minute songs (100 beats per minute is the correct rate for chest compressions during CPR).

* Free printable stickers, T-shirt decals, stationary, downloadable widgets and wallpapers.

"Be the Beat is helping to create the next generation of lifesavers by empowering teens and tweens to act when they see someone suddenly collapse," said Michael Sayre, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association's Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. "Sadly, far too many people are dying from cardiac arrest. We want this campaign to inspire people to help save lives."

By increasing the number of people who know proper CPR/AED - an giving them the confidence to respond in an emergency - Be the Beat will help to give more cardiac arrest victims a better chance at life.

Check it out at Be the Beat. Or, find out more about CPR and AED training.

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is sponsoring a contest to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of knowing how to perform CPR and use an AED.

Groups of students from any elementary school, middle school, secondary school, or college can enter the contest. Each team will write, film, star in and edit a short video promoting the importance of knowing how to do CPR and use an AED.

Finalists for all categories will be posted on the SCA Foundation's website and its YouTube Channel and promoted to schools nationwide. Five schools will win an AED; the first place winner will also receive a Nintendo Wii game system in addition to the AED.

Entries are due October 26th, 2009.

To learn more about the contest, visit http://www.sca-aware.org/schools/back-to-school-video-contest-win-an-aed-for-your-school.

To learn more about AED training, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/heartbeat.html.

Birmingham, Alabama -- Learn CPR on a video game console? It could happen sooner than you think.

Senior biomedical engineering students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have been working to develop a computer program that will teach CPR using the handheld remote controls from the Nintendo Wii video game console.

The project uses the Wii remote's wireless technology to teach users proper CPR technique. The program can detect the exact depth and placement of the chest compressions using the remote and offer feedback accordingly.

This summer, the American Heart Association pledged $50,000 to fund the students' work. "The Heart Association's high interest in our students' innovations points to potential of this project and how it fits in with its desire to deliver reliable CPR education to the masses," said Jack Rogers, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at UAB.

The UAB Wii CPR program will become available on the American Heart Association Web site as a free download as soon as it is finished. The UAB team says it could complete its program development by early fall of 2009.

For more information about CPR training, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/firstaid.html.