About Us

Take Heart America is an international cardiac arrest survival initiative founded by medical professionals and civic leaders who recognized that current survival rates have been and remain unacceptably low and that neurological outcomes can be significantly improved. We work with resuscitation leaders as champions in communities to change behavior, grow relationships, implement leading technologies that ensure that more lives are saved.

We recognize that no single intervention is effective in the treatment of cardiac arrest. Due to the highly complex nature of cardiac arrest, multiple treatments and devices are needed to resuscitate and sustain patients. Welcome to a more effective model of care that we have designated as the NEUROPROTECTIVE CPR Strategy (NCPR). The elements of this Bundle of Care are synergistic; when the entire bundle is available and implemented using quality measures, neurologically intact survival rates from cardiac arrest soar. Our comprehensive system of care has been implemented by communities in the United States and abroad. Early adopters have nearly tripled lives saved within their communities.

Our approach relies on coordinated action from lay rescuers (parents, coaches, students), first responders (police, firefighters, volunteer rescuers), emergency medical services (paramedics, emergency medical technicians) and hospitals (nurses and doctors in emergency departments, ICUs). These groups receive both high-quality training and state-of-the-art life-saving technologies from industry innovators. 

Our community of medical practitioners, industry partners and lay personnel continue to adapt and promote innovative new research and technologies. We hold an annual conference to highlight the latest advances and promote discussion to energize people that we can indeed tackle this third leading killer of people worldwide.

Who We Are

THA was founded in 2005 by Keith Lurie MD and Robert Niskanen.  Since then many people and organizations have contributed to the ongoing mission and led to startling survival rate increases in communities where the Take Heart ‘Bundle of Care’ has been implemented.

Please visit our board of directors page to learn more about our dedicated staff.