SCAFoundation's blog

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.

In late 2007, Congress declared the first week of June as “National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week.”

The Congressional resolution shines a national spotlight on how important it is for all Americans to learn critical lifesaving skills such as how to perform CPR, how to use an AED and the need to increase public access to AEDs.

House members Reps. John R. “Randy” Kuhl, Jr. (R-NY) and Dan Boren (D-OK) co-sponsored the House version of the bill (H.Con.Res. 215), and Sens. Russell Feingold (D-W) and Susan Collins (R-ME), championed the Senate version (S.Con.Res. 54), working with the American Heart Association and American Red Cross.

Last June, nationwide ceremonies, community activities and educational outreach efforts were conducted across the country.

What are you doing to celebrate CPR-AED Awareness week this year?

 

A Message from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation

We see it in the news far too often: A student is at football practice, or playing lacrosse, or just walking to class when he suddenly collapses and dies from sudden cardiac arrest.

When a tragedy like this happens, people often think there’s nothing they can do. But there is: Immediate treatment—before paramedics arrive—with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and an automated external defibrillator, or AED, gives the victim the best chance at life.

Schools exist for the purpose of preparing young people for life. Doesn’t it make sense that schools themselves should be prepared to save a life?

The following letter from the SCA Foundation was published in The New York Times, Tuesday, July 1, 2008.

To the Editor:

Even though sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a preventable and treatable condition, most victims die because they do not receive effective help quickly enough. To survive SCA, it is critical for the victim to receive immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and treatment with a defibrillator within five minutes. Since even the best EMS responders cannot always get to the victim in time (typical EMS response times are seven to eight minutes after receipt of the 9-1-1 call), survival generally depends on the help of bystanders who witness the victim’s sudden death and intervene without hesitation.

To improve SCA survival rates, it is vital for potential bystanders to be aware that SCA is a public health crisis and that survival from SCA depends largely on bystander intervention. Lifesaving bystander actions include calling 9-1-1, giving CPR, and using an automated external defibrillator (AED).

It’s a common misconception that sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and heart attack are the same thing. In reality, they are quite different.

Understanding the difference could save your life—or the life of someone you love.

HEART ATTACK: A "PLUMBING PROBLEM”

The Person is Awake and the Heart is Beating

Heart attack (the medical term is myocardial infarction or MI) occurs when part of the heart’s blood supply is reduced or blocked, causing the heart muscle to become injured or die. The person is awake (conscious) and may complain of one or more of the signs and symptoms of heart attack.

Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack

Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back.

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.