September 28, 2007–PALMERSTON NORTH, NZ–A first-aid lesson turned into real-life drama when a man collapsed outside the classroom - forcing the tutor to put his training to the test.

And the students thought the emergency was staged for dramatic effect.

But the incident was very real, and Paul Fowles' quick thinking was able to save the elderly man who had suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

The 34-year-old from Palmerston North was about to start teaching CPR in the Levin Volunteer Fire Brigade building as part of a two-day St John Workplace First Aid course, when a member of the public ran inside yelling for help.

Across the road, a man believed to be in his 60s had collapsed on the pavement. “I went across and found he was not breathing and he didn't have a pulse,”Mr. Fowles said.

September 28, 2007–LONDON–David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy soccer player and former captain of the Manchester United team flew to London on Thursday after his father suffered a serious heart attack which led to cardiac arrest.

The 32-year-old landed at London's Heathrow airport after an overnight flight, and headed straight to the hospital where Ted Beckham, 59, was being treated after being taken ill late Wednesday.

Beckham's father suffered a heart attack at home and had to be resuscitated by paramedics in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

September 26, 2007–POUGHKEEPSIE, NY–Dutchess County launched its new HEART Safe initiative Tuesday, aiming to prevent deaths from cardiac arrest in businesses, schools and communities around the county.

The program is typically taken on by an entire state, (e.g., Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) but Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus believes that if the county starts its own initiative, other counties and maybe even New York state government will follow.

“Dutchess County is the first county in the nation to initiate the HEART Safe program,” noted Steinhaus. “We want to encourage every organization in the county to take these important steps to become a HEART Safe community.”

September 25, 2007–CALGARY–Calgary's public school will place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at all 21 senior high schools. The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) says this is the first phase of a plan to have them installed in all of its schools.

According to CBE spokesperson Ted Flitton, high-school students are at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) especially during strenuous physical activity. The AEDs will help not only students and staff, he said, but also community groups that use the schools after hours.

Calgary is the first school district in western Canada to install the lifesaving devices. It will cost $39,270 to outfit all the city's public high schools.

One hundred children die from SCA In Canada each year.

September 24, 2007­–LONDON–Researchers from the University of Warwick, and University College London, have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. However they have also found that too much sleep can also more than double the risk of death.

According to the research, presented at the British Sleep Society by Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick’s Warwick Medical School, those who had cut their sleeping from seven hours to five hours or less faced a 1.7 fold increased risk in mortality from all causes, and twice the increased risk of death from a cardiovascular problem in particular.

September 22, 2007–ALBANY–A new law will expand New York State’s Public Access to Defibrillation program by requiring all high-occupancy facilities to be equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED), according to the American Heart Association.