how can i access a variable defined inside a for each loop outside the loop?

Here is my code...

foreach ($relatedStories->getResults() as $story):
    $total+=$story->getEstimation();
endforeach;

$$relatedStories is an array of values.im summing the attribute开发者_开发问答 estimation to total. Now i need to access the total value outside. How can i do so????

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Define variable $total outside the loop. ($total = 0;).