Security staff at shopping centres in Merseyside are being trained in the use of lifesaving support equipment. The training, provided by the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service (MRAS), is one of 31 schemes being run nationally.
It is designed to improve the survival rates for people with heart problems through early intervention.
Shopping centres being served by the scheme include Winsford Cross, Pyramid and Grange in Birkenhead, and St John's in Liverpool.
MRAS said more than 12,000 people in the UK suffer a cardiac arrest in a public place each year.
 |  Early treatment to such victims, before the arrival of an ambulance resource, is essential if more people are to survive |
The scheme has also seen the introduction of 150 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) onto all non-emergency ambulances in Cheshire and Merseyside.
An AED is a device which gives a controlled electric shock to restore the heart to its normal rhythm.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Defibrillation Project aims to place at least 130 AEDs into local communities throughout the region over the next 12 months.
Rob Hussey, from MRAS, said: "Early treatment to such victims, before the arrival of an ambulance resource, is essential if more people are to survive.
"We will always send an emergency vehicle, but the community can help us and patients greatly if they can play a part in commencing treatment immediately."
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