Every year, thousands of people die in New Mexico due to sudden cardiac arrest, stroke and other heart diseases. A person may collapse from heart attack in the street and unfortunately suffer from an untimely death as they unlikely to receive CPR from passers-by or from their own family members. Thus, in 2005, 23 percent of deaths in NM were caused by heart disease. To significantly reduce this percentage, the local government with the help of public health organizations tries to educate people about the important role of CPR. Giving prompt medical response to a crucial situation like cardiac arrest can save the victim’s life, or at least increase the chances of the victim’s survival rate. What hospitals in New Mexico want is to receive patients while they are alive and provide them the primary care that they needed most. It is this reason why paramedics are an important member of the medical team, as they are the first to respond to victims of an unfortunate event like sudden heart attack. No wonder CPR classes and training New Mexico practitioners receive a relatively good annual salary. And with the rise in importance of CPR training, there is an expected career growth for the said healthcare professionals. So now is definitely the time to undergo CPR training and pass the licensure exam after 6 or more weeks of training. If you are college-bound, you can consider taking CPR classes as a stepping stone to your healthcare career. You will be a part of the EMT team who is responsible for administering CPR, first aid and AED to patients outside of hospital. Before applying for admission, you must be 18 years of age, must submit your High School diploma and undergo criminal background check. The cost of the course depends on the school, but most CPR classes and training New Mexico instructors charge around $500 for the whole session. You can also look for free CPR training programs online but expect that the knowledge and skills that you can learn are limited only. While you can save some money by undergoing online training, the state still requires all candidates for CPR certification exam to complete the required hours of clinical training in an on-site location. Successful students may sit for the certification, which is composed of written test and oral exam. Written test is mostly in multiple choice format while the oral test is where you must demonstrate your CPR skills that will be evaluated and graded by the proctors.