SCA Foundation News
February 2009
Welcome to SCA Foundation News, a service of the nonprofit Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.
Our mission is to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and support programs that give ‘ordinary’ people the power to save lives.
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SCA Foundation Launches You Can Save a Life™ at School Campaign
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) threatens lives every day in classrooms and sports fields across the country. To save more lives, the SCA Foundation has launched an awareness campaign for schools that includes a mini-magazine, You Can Save a Life at School(TM), and a companion website, www.sca-aware.org/schools. The campaign is first in a series of targeted educational materials.
“Schools have the power - and the moral responsibility - to protect the lives of students, faculty, staff and visitors. With simple preparation, you can save a life at school,“ said Bobby Khan, MD, Ph.D., chairman of the SCA Foundation Board of Directors, and Assistant Professor of Medicine/Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
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Call for Saves and Successes for the Schools Campaign
♥ Do you know of any saves in schools that we can record for the schools campaign? Want to share your insights? Visit the schools forum Win an AED for Your School Video Contest Connecticut Bill to Mandate AEDs in Schools A bill introduced this month by the Connecticut Public Health Committee would require schools throughout the state to have automated external defibrillators (AEDs), train school personnel in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED use, and develop emergency response plans by July 1, 2010. See Raised Bill No. 981. Push Here Watch this video to see how simple it is to save a life. Brought to you by Health & Safety Institute, a sponsor of the schools campaign. National Press Club Award Book Fair and Annual Awards Dinner in Washington D.C. The SCA Foundation is delighted to work with the National Press Club, and was honored to participate in their annual Book Fair and Awards Dinner. Hands Only part3 Following on from our previous discussions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), it is important to understand the clinical evidence and arguments for changing the technique in sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) cases. This third article in the series, examines the reasoning and early studies in modifying resuscitation for witnessed cardiac arrest. In fact, it is these very data that prompted the AHA to issue a science advisory enhancing the 2005 CPR guidelines. SCA Survivor Registry™ Update The SCA Survivor Registry™ collects information such as the location of arrest, types of intervention and outcomes, helping to identify variables and trends related to SCA survival and return to pre-arrest levels of functioning. Survivors who opt to join the registry can indicate their interest in participating in survey research and efforts to increase public awareness, such as media interviews and community outreach. The registry contains several hundred survivors from 32 states (plus a number of international survivors), with an average age of just 46 years. Nearly two thirds are male, and less than 10% of all survivors had a prior cardiac history. The average length of hospital stay was just over 10 days, and around one in four report they received an ICD. And finally, more than fifty survivors have their stories posted on the website. “The purpose of the registry is to identify people who have survived sudden cardiac arrest and who would like to help others survive,“ said Mary Newman, executive director of the SCA Foundation. The registry enables survivors to share their insights in narrative form, and provides important qualitative information. A common theme is their deeper appreciation for the opportunity for a second chance at life.
♥ Can you recommend any model programs?
Please send us an email: newsletter [at] sca-aware [dot] org
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“We’d like to see more journalists break fresh ground and bring new insights and clarity to sudden cardiac arrest,” said Bobby Khan, MD, PhD, of Emory University, chairman of the SCA Foundation Board of Directors. “Greater attention to SCA in the media could have a pivotal impact on the public’s understanding of this preventable and treatable life-threatening condition. As a result, 50,000 lives or more could be saved every year.”
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>> read their stories
