Venkatesh Veeravalli, 29, a software engineer from New Brunswick, NJ, died suddenly from cardiac arrest on February 9th, leaving behind his 25-year-old wife, his parents, and many other family members and friends.
According to his family, “Venky” had fallen asleep that evening, but then awoke with breathing difficulties. First responders worked for over an hour, trying to revive him with CPR and a defibrillator. He was later transported to nearby Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. Unfortunately, however, he could not be resuscitated.
Family and friends were shocked and devastated, especially because Venky was “active, health conscious, and a regular at the gym.”
His friends and family established a Go Fund Me page in his memory to help raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest. According to the page, “We forced ourselves to search for answers on the web. Thus, we stumbled upon the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent death and disability from SCA and raise awareness to help save such innocent lives.”
The page generated more than $10,000 in donations from 200 donors in just a few weeks.
“We express our deep condolences to the family and friends of Venkatesh Veeravalli for their terrible loss,” said Henry Jampel, MD, chairman of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation Board of Directors. “And we thank them for their very generous donations to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. We will do everything possible to honor his memory as we continue to pursue our mission—raising awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and helping save lives.”
The family urges others to make donations in memory of Venkatesh Veeravalli to expand his influence for good in the world. To contribute, click here.