The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
Federal Register: Effective Date of Requirement for Premarket Approval for AED Systems
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is issuing a final order to require the filing of premarket approval applications (PMA) for automated external defibrillator (AED) systems, which consist of an AED and those AED accessories necessary for the AED to detect and interpret an electrocardiogram and deliver an electrical shock (e.g., … Read More
FDA Takes Steps to Improve Reliability of Automated External Defibrillators
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will strengthen its review of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to help improve the quality and reliability of these devices. The FDA issued a final order that will require AED manufacturers to submit premarket approval applications (PMAs), which undergo a more rigorous review… Read More
Sudden Cardiac Arrest, A Public Health Crisis, Affects Nearly 1,000 People Each Day in the U.S.
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation highlights information from a new report indicating that 326,200 people experience sudden cardiac arrest outside hospitals annually in the U.S., including thousands of children. On average, only one in 10 victims survives; when bystanders witness the emergency, however, one in three victims survives. PITTSBURGH… Read More
SCA Survivor Fashion Show Set for Mall of America
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is inviting female sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survivors who live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to participate in a Feb. 7 fashion show at the Mall of America. "We are looking for women who would be willing to put a face on heart disease/sudden cardiac arrest," the foundation stated in a Jan. 6 tweet that… Read More
The Role of Screening for Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Competitive Athletes: A Critical Review
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading medical cause of death in athletes. In a new article published in Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports, Irfan Asif, MD, of the Greenville TN Health System and Kimberly Harmon, MD, of the University of Washington, present a review of the literature on screening for sudden cardiac death in… Read More
Mason-led Research Team Unveils Unprecedented Study on Sports Physicals for Young Athletes
FAIRFAX, VA--A team led by George Mason University researchers says not enough is being done uniformly across the United States to ensure the safety of children when it comes to detecting cardiac and other health conditions through sports physicals. Shane Caswell, PhD, of the College of Education and Human Development’s School of Recreation,… Read More
Why Do Only Some People with Hereditary Heart Disease Experience Symptoms?
MAYWOOD, IL--As many as 500,000 people in the United States have a heritable and potentially fatal heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The disease can cause irregular heartbeats, heart valve problems, heart failure and, in rare cases, sudden cardiac death in young people. But some people who carry gene mutations that cause… Read More
AHA Releases 2015 Heart and Stroke Statistics
New report suggests the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is 326,200. The average survival rate is 10.6% and survival with good neurologic function is 8.3%. Nearly one in three victims survives when the arrest is witnessed by a bystander. DALLAS, TX--For the first time in the 50 years that the American Heart Association/ American… Read More
Sudden Cardiac Arrest During Sports: How Can the Risk Be Reduced?
250 of the world's leading specialists met in Berlin last weekend Time and again, the topic of sudden cardiac death grabs the public's attention when football stars or other top athletes collapse from cardiac arrest in front of the live cameras. This important issue has long been a concern of heart specialists, for cardiac arrest often hits young… Read More