[ti:Health Agreement Asks Chinese People to Help Strangers]
[ar:Anna Matteo]
[al:Health & Lifestyle report]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
[00:05.40]A recent agreement between the American Heart Association and China 
[00:11.11]could reduce deaths from heart attack and stroke in China and, possibly, beyond.
[00:18.48]Cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, 
[00:23.57]is the main cause of early death in China and many developing countries. 
[00:29.12]Studies show that cardiovascular disease kills more than 17 million people 
[00:35.99]around the world every year. 
[00:38.04]In the next 15 years that number is expected to rise to 23 million. 
[00:44.78]These deaths are, for the most part, preventable.
[00:49.29]Douglas Boyle works for the American Heart Association. 
[00:54.20]He spoke at the agreement signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. 
[00:59.52]Mr. Boyle said the partnership can help people live longer and healthier lives.
[01:06.60]The agreement between the American Heart Association and China has three main parts. 
[01:13.27]It calls for increasing opportunities for researchers, 
[01:18.10]healthcare providers and public health specialists 
[01:22.05]in the U.S. to meet with those in China. 
[01:25.11]The agreement also seeks the sharing of cardiovascular research. 
[01:30.86]And, finally, it calls for training in China of life-saving techniques 
[01:36.87]such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.
[01:43.44]CPR can restart a stopped heart. 
[01:47.69]CPR has helped lower death rates from heart disease 
[01:52.44]in the United States by 30 percent. 
[01:55.20]Improvements in medical science and educational campaigns 
[02:00.54]about preventing heart disease also played a part.
[02:04.38]The American Heart Association says teaching CPR 
[02:09.30]to the people of China may help save lives. 
[02:14.04]China's population is very large. 
[02:17.50]So, the association says it is highly likely 
[02:21.88]that a bystander will need to help someone who is in cardiac arrest. 
[02:27.51]Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of heart activity, breathing, and consciousness.
[02:34.59]CPR combines rescue breathing and chest compressions. 
[02:41.07]Rescue breathing requires breathing into the victim's mouth 
[02:46.29]to provide oxygen to the person's lungs. 
[02:49.28]To perform the compressions, 
[02:52.37]place one hand over the other and press firmly 
[02:56.20]on the center of the victim's chest repeatedly. 
[02:59.52]This permits oxygen-rich blood to continue flowing 
[03:04.11]until the heartbeat and breathing are restored.
[03:07.78]The question is, will a bystander in China 
[03:12.73]give CPR to a complete stranger having a heart attack?
[03:17.13]Several media reports have suggested that people in China 
[03:23.08]may be resistant to helping strangers in medical emergencies. 
[03:27.93]This could be because the person helping can be held legally 
[03:33.35]responsible for damage to the injured person.
[03:36.63]Several of these reports went viral on the web.
[03:41.76]In 2011, there was a video online of the two-year-old girl who was hit by a vehicle. 
[03:49.61]The video shows eighteen people pass by her before someone helped. 
[03:55.31]The little girl, Wang Yue, later died from her injuries. 
[04:00.37]In 2014, a man killed himself after he helped a stranger who later demanded money from him.
[04:08.68]These incidents may be few; but they draw attention to a lacking area of China's legal system. 
[04:16.45]According to the China Daily as well as other newspapers, 
[04:21.46]China does not have a national Good Samaritan law. 
[04:25.57]Good Samaritan laws protect people who aid others in medical need.
[04:31.10]I'm Anna Matteo.
[04:32.95]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com