Cardiac arrest is the number one killer of people in the U.S. More than 900 people die from heart attacks every day. In a major effort to get bystanders to help save lives, the American Heart Association is now promoting "hands-only" CPR.

Hard and fast chest compressions could help save the life of someone in cardiac arrest. That's according to the American Heart Association which says more than 300,000 people die of heart attacks each year outside of hospitals.

“The longer a person goes without anything being done the less likely they are not going to survive,” said Cheryl McDowell, University Hospital CPR Instructor.

Cheryl McDowell, a CPR instructor with University Hospital, says the goal is to get more people use the life saving measure in place of the sometimes complicated mouth-to-mouth resuscitation which can turn some people off.

“There is a lot of reluctance I am sure on the part of the public or anyone justifiably so if you had to put your mouth on someone else 'what might they have that you would not want?’”, said McDowell.

Here how it works: once you've determined the victim is unresponsive and you have called 911, immediately place one hand over the other, placing the heal of the hand in the center of the chest between the breast bone. Then do hard and fast chest compression at 1/2 to 2 inches deep at the rate of 100 times per minute.