In this Sept. 15, 2006, photo a person participates in an American Red Cross CPR training in Washington. High school students in the Beehive State will have more than a diploma under their belt after graduation as they are now required to undergo CPR training as part of the state curriculum, one component of an initiative to combat sudden cardiac arrest. In this Sept. 15, 2006, photo a person participates in an American Red Cross CPR training in Washington. High school students in the Beehive State will have more than a diploma under their belt after graduation as they are now required to undergo CPR training as part of the state curriculum, one component of an initiative to combat sudden cardiac arrest | Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari, Associated Press, St. George News

SALT LAKE CITY — High school students in the Beehive State will have more than a diploma under their belt after graduation as they are now required to undergo CPR training as part of the state curriculum, one component of a statewide initiative to combat sudden cardiac arrest.

SB192 was signed into law in March and provides funding for and defines CPR training in state code as a requirement to be taught in all high school health classes in Utah.

Graduating classes of students that are CPR trained is significant for Utah, too, as heart disease is the No. 1 killer of Utahns, according to the American Heart Association.

Jennifer Merback, spokeswoman for the American Heart Association Utah Division, said that nearly 1,500 Utahns experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting every year and only about 10% of people survive.

“Bystander CPR can mean the difference between life and death,” Merback said.

Read the full story here: KSL News.

Written by LOGAN STEFANICH, KSL.com.

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