June 9, 2006 - WAYNE, NJ - Twelve-year old Steven Domalewski was pitching in a Police Athletic League game in Wayne, NJ, on June 6th when he was struck in the chest by the ball, leading to commotio cordis, a cause of sudden cardiac arrest in children. Several onlookers provided cardiopulmonary resuscitation. While there was a defibrillator at the ballpark, it was not used since professional help arrived quickly, according to PAL officials.

Only 15% of the victims have been resuscitated, according to the U.S. Commotio Cordis Registry.

For information on commotio cordis, see www.la12.org and www.suddendeathathletes.org.

June 7, 2006 - HUMESTON, IA - The Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations subcommittee has earmarked $1.5 million for Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices Grant Program, "rejecting efforts of the Administration to terminate the initiative." The program provides funding to rural communities to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and provide training in their use. The appropriation level is substantially lower than amounts allocated in the past and a disappointment to emergency cardiovascular care advocates. The funding level in FY 2005 was $8.927 million.

June 9, 2006 - WASHINGTON, DC - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued Best Practices Guide: Fundamentals of a Workplace First-Aid Program (OSHA 3317-05N 2006), a new guide to help employers and employees develop workplace first aid programs.

“A workplace first-aid program is a key component of any comprehensive safety and health management system,” said OSHA Administrator Ed Foulke. “Our new guide offers practical information on how to help employers plan and implement first-aid programs as well as effective training.”

OSHA recommends the provision of automated external defibrillator (AED) training if an AED is available at the work site. The Guide is advisory in nature. It is not a standard or regulation and it creates no new legal obligations.

June 5, 2006 - A test that picks up a nearly undetectable variation in the heartbeat helps single out heart attack survivors who are likely to develop potentially deadly heart rhythms, reports the June issue of the Harvard Heart Letter. These are the people who would most benefit from getting a device called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD, which shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm if it goes astray.

June 1, 2006 - School districts in Illinois have until July 1 to comply with a law that requires placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in gyms, swimming pools and other physical fitness facilities. Schools seem to be confident about meeting the deadline, according to officials of the Illinois Association of School Administrators and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

I am submerged in sorrow. 
Facing the computer, entering figures 
Into a database on cardiac arrest, 
I have come to know the cadence of death. 

Time of collapse? Not witnessed. 
Bystander CPR? No. 
9-1-1 till EMS on scene? 10…15 minutes. 
Till defibrillator use? Even longer. 
Patient in shockable rhythm? Not anymore. 
Return of spontaneous circulation? No. 
Survive to hospital admission? No. 
Survive to hospital discharge? No chance. 

Case after case after tragic case. 
The forms are flat and marred with black fax smudges.