SCA News

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, a national nonprofit organization, will participate in the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community on Saturday, May 18 in Pittsburgh, PA, to raise awareness about the nation’s leading cause of death and help save lives. Survivors and families affected by sudden cardiac death are urged to join or support the team here.

The automated external defibrillator industry is about to get a bit of a jolt, according to Brendon Nafiger in DOTmed Business News. In March, the Food and Drug Administration released a long-in-the-works proposed order that will toughen the procedure for getting the devices on the market after a number of high-profile recalls. It's unclear exactly how this will affect AED-makers, but it could dramatically increase the money and time needed to commercialize the life-saving equipment.

Not everyone is happy about this. The fear is that the new regulations could, by making it harder and more expensive to commercialize devices, discourage innovation or raise the costs of AEDs. Pricier automated defibrillators, which already run between $1,000 and $2,500 per unit, could make it less likely that budget-strapped public facilities will have them on hand in an emergency. 

Athlete's sudden death a tragic reminder that sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime

PITTSBURGH, PA--Just before heading to the starting line for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on Sunday morning, Kyle Chase Johnson toasted his roommate, Alex Calder, with a glass of raw eggs.

“I woke up with him this morning at 6, and he was doing the ‘Rocky' thing,” said Calder, Johnson's former classmate and teammate from the North Allegheny High School football team. “He drank the whole glass of eggs, but he said it was a lot more difficult than he'd thought it was.”

TORONTO--Prompt use of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, can greatly increase the survival rates of people who suffer a cardiac arrest.

Yet a new study has found that publicly registered AEDs in Toronto are not in the best positions to help victims of cardiac arrest. In fact, less than one in four of all cardiac arrests had an AED close by (within 100 metres is the required distance). The average distance to the nearest AED was closer to 300 metres.

Current guidelines suggest areas associated with the highest risk of cardiac arrest should be targeted for AED deployment, after they have been placed in obvious high-traffic areas such as transportation hubs or major sports venues. But it’s not clear how to identify these “cardiac hot spots.”

CHELMSFORD, MA -- The results from the Prospective Registry and Follow-Up of Patients Using the Wearable Defibrillator (WEARIT-II) will be presented in a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial presentation at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society's 34th Annual Scientific Sessions, Friday, May 10, 1:30-3:00 p.m., Session number SP22.

The 18-month results from WEARIT-II will be presented by Ian Goldenberg, MD, (Principal Investigator) University of Rochester Medical Center. WEARIT-II is a prospective, observational study designed to evaluate high cardiac risk patients' clinical information, arrhythmias, and treatment findings during wearable defibrillator use and subsequent one-year clinical course, including survival.

Use of a standardized debriefing script during resuscitation training programs conducted by novice instructors is associated with improved acquisition of knowledge and team leader behavioral performance in subsequent simulated cardiopulmonary arrests, according to a study published online April 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Use of a standardized debriefing script during resuscitation training programs conducted by novice instructors is associated with improved acquisition of knowledge and team leader behavioral performance in subsequent simulated cardiopulmonary arrests, according to a study published online April 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

ROME--Italy’s government has ruled that all sporting companies, regardless of whether they are amateur or professional, must own a defibrillator.

Professional companies will have to comply within six months, and amateur ones within 30 months, it ruled Friday.

Defibrillators will have to always be accessible and used in the presence of qualified personnel, it said.

Italy’s sports world had pledged to act to avoid more deaths like that of popular Livorno player Piermario Morosini, who died last year at the age of 25 after collapsing during a second-tier football game.

Morosini’s death, which followed a number of similar fatalities, caused shock throughout the world of sport and aroused debate about whether enough was being done to prevent loss of life in sport.

SOURCE: Business Standard

CALIFORNIA--Palo Alto city council unanimously approved the $92,500 purchase of 37 automated external defibrillators, or AEDs. The lightweight, portable devices are capable of delivering an electric shock through the chest to the heart to restore normal rhythm. Squad cars, community centers, athletic fields and many government buildings will be equipped with the devices, according to a city staff report. In addition the school district also plans to place the devices on every campus by June 2014.

The city council's decision to purchase AEDs resulted from collaboration between the police and fire departments and Racing Hearts, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit that advocates for the purchase, placement and training of AEDs in schools, playgrounds and community centers. The funds will come out of the council's contingency fund.

DALLAS, TX -- Pat Summerall, the man who called 16 Super Bowls, died Tuesday from cardiac arrest as the 82-year-old recovered from surgery to repair a broken hip. One of the legendary voices of the NFL, Summerall at one time, played in the NFL as a kicker with the Lions, Cardinals and Giants. His commentary on the other hand didn't go unnoticed as Summerall was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1999. When Summerall retired from the NFL in 1961, he moved into the commentary booth, where he wouldn't leave for another four decades. Summerall called more Super Bowls than any other commentator during his career with CBS and FOX.

More from the NFL...

JACKSONVILLE, FLA--The family of a 15-year-old boy who died after a collision on a baseball field nearly three years ago has filed a negligence lawsuit against the city of Jacksonville.

Andrew Cohn's family says firefighters with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department were slow in response and did not jolt him with a defibrillator, a procedure they say could have saved his life.

Cohn, of St. Marys, Ga., stepped in the first-base path and collided with a runner during a game in Dinsmore. He suffered sudden cardiac arrest and died at a hospital.

"It's something you wake up with every day. You don't understand why," said Harold Cohn, Andrew's father.