Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) happens to kids as well as adults. A simple device known as an automated external defibrillator (AED) can save lives, but only if it’s in the right place at the right time

We see it in the news nearly every day. A young student, frequently an athlete, dies suddenly from cardiac arrest. Soon after, the school system develops an AED program in memory of the student.

Why wait for a tragedy? Do schools in your community have AEDs? If they don’t the time to get them is now.

It’s not just the headlines about sudden death in young people that are causing an increased interest in school CPR-AED programs. People are beginning to recognize that sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States—and it can also affect children and adolescents. And they’re starting to understand that there is a treatment for it: the quick combination of CPR and defibrillation.