Football fans attending the Super Bowl Experience in San Francisco this week will have the opportunity to learn a life-saving skill. The American Heart Association, in collaboration with the National Football League, is bringing its Nation of Lifesavers Mobile CPR Unit to the Moscone Convention Center from Tuesday, Feb. 3 through Saturday, Feb. 7. Qualified CPR trainers will provide Hands-Only CPR instruction to attendees in a walk-up format, teaching participants the correct rate and depth of chest compressions needed to respond effectively in a cardiac emergency.
Hands-Only CPR, which involves calling 911 and then pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest, can be equally effective as traditional CPR in the first few minutes of an emergency response, according to American Heart Association guidelines. The initiative is part of a broader effort to double cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030, as nearly 3 out of 4 cardiac arrests occur at home, and immediate CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival.
“When more people know CPR, more lives can be saved. Teaching fans CPR during the Super Bowl Experience transforms one of the world’s biggest sporting events into a powerful opportunity for public health impact,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association. “By collaborating with the NFL, the American Heart Association is working to help ensure that everyone, everywhere is prepared to act in a cardiac emergency.”
In addition to the on-site training, the Heart Association and NFL are celebrating five students who won Super Bowl LX tickets through the Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge in-school programs. These students learned Hands-Only CPR through the program, and their schools are eligible for a $10,000 physical education makeover. Other students and schools can enter now to win tickets to Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles in 2027.
The collaboration also includes a class of 32 NFL players serving as Nation of Lifesavers Player Ambassadors, including Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills, who have been advocating for CPR education. Since January 2023, the Heart Association has worked with more than half of NFL teams to train players, staff, and community members in Hands-Only CPR and Heartsaver CPR AED. Teams such as the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys have hosted training sessions, making communities better prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies.
This marks the sixth appearance of the Mobile CPR Unit at a signature NFL event, following previous appearances at Super Bowls LIX, LVIII, LVII, and NFL Drafts. The unit will also be at the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. The Association encourages everyone to take 90 seconds to learn how to save a life at www.heart.org/nation.
According to the American Heart Association, 9 out of 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die, partly because they do not receive immediate CPR more than half of the time. By equipping more people with CPR skills, the partnership aims to change that statistic and create a Nation of Lifesavers.
