One of my best friends called a few weeks ago and asked, “So how is Tim Russert’s case affecting you and the foundation’s efforts to raise awareness about saving lives?”

I told her that despite the very tragic news of his sudden death, the good news is that people are talking about heart attacks and other causes of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). We spoke about how much media coverage there has been on the topic. 

Then she said something that caught me completely off-guard. “So, do you want to know how it is affecting me?” "Sure," I said, wondering where this was going.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) involves mimicking two important organs, both of which are required to sustain life. The answer lies in the very term cardiopulmonary. Cardio is derived from the Greek kardia meaning heart or hollow vessel, and pulmonary from the Latin pulmonarius (of the lungs).

Thus CPR quite literally means resuscitation through circulation and breathing. Not just compressions, but ventilations as well. I’m sure you already know how important “pumping and blowing” is— it would be hard not to with all the time and effort spent on training during the last 40 years or so. But the solution to resuscitation is not quite that simple.

Bobby V. Khan, MD, PhD, has been elected the new chairman of the Foundation Board of Directors, taking the reins from Paul Pendergast, of Hartford, CT, who served as chairman in 2007, and Michael Sayre, MD, of Columbus, OH, who served as founding chairman in 2006.

Born and raised in Nashville TN, Dr. Khan is currently Assistant Professor of Medicine/Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Coronary Care Unit and Cardiovascular Research at the Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.