July 3, 2008­–Honesdale, PA–David Belkin died last February during a pick-up basketball game, but because of quick action by Roman Matlaga, he is alive to tell about it. 

On Sunday July 6 at 11 A.M., Belkin will be reunited with his hero.  He’ll present Matlaga with the Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Foundation’s People Saving People Award at the home of game organizer, Henry Skier, at 13 Hillcrest Rd. (behind Wayne Memorial Hospital) in Honesdale.

Also invited to the event are State Representative Mario Scavello (R-Monroe County), Representative Michael Peifer (R-Wayne County), State Senator Lisa Baker (R-District 20), and Wayne Highlands School District Superintendent Tom Jenkins.

In February 2007, Belkin, 65, of Bethesda, MD, was a guest at the basketball game’s cold-weather venue, Lakeside Elementary School. Matlaga, one of the regulars, was there when David drained a fade away jumper, then collapsed.

June 27, 2008–Just one in 10 U.S. student-athletes who suffer sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survives, a new study found.

SCA is the leading cause of death in young athletes and the leading overall cause of death in the United States. Approximately one SCA case occurs every three days in organized youth sports, according to background information with the study.

“Overall, there is pretty poor survival from sudden cardiac arrest in young people,” said study co-author Dr. Kimberly G. Harmon, of the University of Washington Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

But, there is a trend toward improved survival, Harmon said. “This is probably due to improved access to external automatic defibrillators (AEDs),” she said. “As we study this over the next several years, we are going to find that survival will improve as emergency plans and AEDs become more available and used.”

June 26, 2008­–PITTSBURGH, PA–Reports indicate that NBC journalist Tim Russert died from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) resulting from a heart attack. Russert’s sudden death may help save other lives by raising awareness about the critical importance of calling 911, giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and using an automated external defibrillator (AED) immediately when SCA strikes.

“Perhaps Tim’s final gift to the nation was to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and the simple actions anyone can take to save a life,” said Bobby V. Khan, MD, PhD, Board Chairman of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation and Assistant Professor of Medicine/Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Roman Matlaga - Winner of the SCA Foundation’s People Saving People™ Award

June 15, 2008–Las Vegas, NV–Roman Matlaga was recognized on Sunday, June 15—Father’s Day—as the winner of the SCA Foundation’s People Saving People™ Award during the Citizen CPR Foundation’s biennial conference, the Emergency Cardiac Care Update, in Las Vegas.

Roman Matlaga - Winner of the SCA Foundation’s People Saving People™ Award

June 14, 2008­–PITTSBURGH–We at the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation express our heartfelt sympathy to the family of Tim Russert, who died suddenly yesterday afternoon in the NBC studios. Tim could not be resuscitated despite the fact than an intern provided cardiopulmonary resusciation (CPR) and D.C. EMS arrived quickly and treated Russert with a defibrillator.

The tragedy of this profound loss to the Russert family and his extensive network of friends and colleagues in journalism and politics would be all the more tragic if it turns out that NBC did not have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site--or even worse had one, but somehow neglected to find or use it.

On the other hand, Tim’s death may not have been preventable, given his extensive underlying coronary artery disease.

June 10, 2008–SACRAMENTO, CA–Three longtime members of United Healthcare Workers-West saved the life of a 53-year-old passenger on their Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to Burbank early Tuesday.

The trio was among a group of 35 workers headed to Southern California to attend a contract bargaining session with their employer, Catholic Healthcare West. Erin O'Neil, 39, a respiratory therapist at Mercy San Juan Hospital in Sacramento and David Lei, a registered nurse at Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital in San Andreas, said they initially heard noise coming from the back of the airplane, but when someone shouted “Code Blue,” they leapt to their feet. In a hospital, “Code Blue” means someone's heart has stopped.

They ran to the back of the plane where they found a man unconscious in his seat.