LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The gym bleachers at Lexington Catholic High School were filled with students Wednesday eager to learn how to save lives.
All thanks to a group of their peers that started the Lexington Catholic Heart Club, spearheaded by Ava and Lily Hester.
The twin sisters are dedicated to teaching others about cardiac arrest and how to prevent it.
“Cardiac arrest is crazy. It’s instant. It can happen to anybody, Ava Hester said.
"The American Heart Association being very adamant about CPR and AED use, we really wanted to push that here at Catholic so that kids, faculty members, everybody can learn what to do.”
It's a passion that led them to organize the Be a Hero event.
The group of high schools in the heart club reached out to both the American Heart Association and Lexington Fire Department to host an informational session on how to perform hands only CPR as well as how to use an AED.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of the hospital so Lexington Fire leaders saw this as a great opportunity to equip a lot of young people with the tools to help if someone goes into arrest out in the open.
“The survival rates are higher if good CPR is being done," Lexington Firefighter Todd Houston said.
"If they’re willing to learn this for a family member, somebody in the mall, somebody here at school, that gives them a better chance of survival until we can get there and take over.”
The Hester sisters likened putting on this event to running a little business.
A lot of moving parts to get in the line, which makes them even more appreciative that they pulled it off.
"It’s taken months to put together but the community we’ve have around has just been so helpful and so loving and we’ve had nothing but positive experiences with everyone," Lily Hester said.
Multiple practice dummies were set up in the gym for students to administer CPR on.
Lexington fire officials guiding them through the simple steps: checking for a pulse or attentiveness, interlocking your hands and performing steady and consistent chest compressions.
Another standout stat from AHA is that 436,000 people die due to cardiac arrest every year.
Ava and Lily have felt that impact in their own family.
“In 2021, our mom actually suffered a stroke. Shortly after our two uncles suffered strokes as well," Ava Hester said.
"Then in 2022, about a year after all that happened, our other uncle, our mom’s brother he was 44 years young and he passed away due to fatal arrythmia."
“I would just love for everyone to know what to do in that situation because you never know when you have to be the hero save a life and step up to the plate," Lily Hester said.
