SCAFoundation's blog

Football Deaths Should Be A Wake-Up Call for Parents and Other High School Stakeholders

What do high school football players Tyquan Brantley, 14, of South Carolina, Donaterio J. (D.J.) Searcy, 16, of Georgia, Isaiah Laurencin, 16, of Florida, Samuel Gitt, 17, of Pennsylvania, and high school football coach Wade McClain, 55, of Texas have in common? They all reached the end zone far too soon—crushed by a formidable opponent, sudden cardiac arrest.

Late summer’s brutal heat was said to be a factor in most of these recent deaths—temperatures have been among the warmest on record.

Like George Yamalis, I had a very personal reason for joining the Foundation’s team at this year’s Highmark Walk for Healthy Community. Today, June 2, is the 12^th anniversary of my frightening and eye-opening experience with sudden cardiac death.

I was fortunate on that day in 1999 to be among people who were alert enough to immediately call EMTs to the scene and even luckier that a fire department team was only minutes away with defibrillators that re-started my heart and ultimately saved my life. No AED was available at the scene of my event. 

While I held down the fort at the Foundation tent, my wife, Lis, walked with the Foundation team because we believe that more lives can be saved if everyone becomes aware that AEDs are not a conveniences in airports, malls, schools, sports facilities and other public places, they are A Must!

National CPR-AED Awareness Week June 1-7 is set aside each year to raise awareness about the need for everyone to learn the essential life skills of CPR and AED use. In Reno, Nevada, people are learning about CPR and AEDs through sidewalk training events. In Tucson, Arizona folks are taking classes in chest-compression-only CPR. And CPR-AED skills will be advocated later this week at Six Flags/ Great Adventure in New Jersey.

What are you doing to help spread the word? Share your news here.

Today would have been Hans Dahll's 87th birthday. Hans was founding CEO of Laerdal Medical, Americas. Here is an article that was published in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services when Hans died in March 2006.

To Sir With Love

Hans H. Dahll: A Personal Reflection

Each year an estimated 325,000 people die in the United States from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA).  Of that number the Heart Rhythm Society estimates about 7,000 of these deaths are in children and infants.

On August 30^th, 1997, my seemingly healthy 22 year old daughter, Emilie, died suddenly, in her sleep, from Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

October is National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, dedicated to educating the public about sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and how to preven

Help save lives in schools across America.

For
many, Mothers' Day is a wonderful day to celebrate our mothers and fond memories, and to enjoy and cherish our children and grandchildren.

For mothers who have lost children to
sudden cardiac arrest, it can be a day of pain, sorrow and longing--not only because death came too soon, but because it took the promise of  future grandchildren with it.

If this description fits you, please know that we
at the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation are
thinking of you on what might be a very difficult day. May this expression of our sympathy bring you some comfort.

October has been filled with activities around the country to raise awareness and help save lives threatened by sudden cardiac arrest. Here are some things we've been up to:

Many of you have written to share your concerns about short term memory loss after survival from sudden cardiac arrest.

It may be comforting to know you are not alone. Many survivors in our registry report memory loss and other cognitive changes.