Photo Coverage: HEIGHTS and WEST SIDE Actors Learn CPR

On Thursday, June 3, from 1:30 - 2PM at the Richard Rodgers Theater (226 W. 46th St, New York, NY), Latino cast members from the Tony® Award-winning Broadway musicals WEST SIDE STORY and IN THE HEIGHTS joined the American Heart Association for 'The Heartbeat of Broadway,' a special event to learn the new Hands-Only^TM CPR during National CPR Awareness Week 2010. The casts learned CPR at 100 beats per minutes to "When You're Home" from the Grammy® Award-winning IN THE HEIGHTS cast recording. BroadwayWorld brings you full coverage below.

Participating actors from IN THE HEIGHTS included Tony® Award-nominee Olga Merediz ("Abuela Claudia"), Rick Negrón ("Kevin"), Doreen Montalvo ("Bolero Singer"), Courtney Reed ("Carla"), and Tony Chiroldes ("Ensemble"). Participating WEST SIDE STORY cast members include George Akram ("Bernardo") and Sara Dobbs ("Anybodys"). They were joined by bilingual AHA volunteers and spokespeople.

National CPR Awareness Week is June 1-7. Nearly half of heart-related deaths among Latinos are from sudden cardiac arrest, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year. Less than a third of victims receive bystander CPR. Knowing CPR can literally save lives.

Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases - America's No. 1 and No. 3 killers - it funds cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 (English), 1-888-474-VIVE (Spanish), or visit americanheart.org.

Photo Credit: Ben Asen