October 30, 2007­–CHICAGO­–The use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has saved the lives of thousands of adult cardiac arrest victims, and now AEDs are shown to be equally effective as life-saving interventions for children. Although the incidence of ventricular fibrillation (VF) in young children is low, there is a need for developing strategies to provide early defibrillation to patients younger than eight years, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has come out with a new clinical report and policy statement.

“As AED programs expand, pediatricians must advocate on behalf of children so that their needs are accounted for,” according to an AAP policy statement in the November issue of Pediatrics. The statement was released Monday during the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting in San Francisco.

October 22, 2007–REGINA–Group Medical Services (GMS), a nonprofit insurance company, strengthened its commitment to the health of Saskatchewan communities today with the announcement of a $300,000 donation to provide automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to 83 schools across the province of Saskatchewan.

“We're very pleased to partner with Saskatchewan schools in this effort” said GMS President and CEO, Shirley Raab. “This province-wide distribution of AED devices to schools is the first of its kind in Canada. Schools have agreed to establish ongoing training and awareness programs for teachers and students. The use of AEDs has proven to result in dramatic increases in survival from cardiac episodes.”

October 4, 2007–SINGAPORE–The College of the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology plans to work with medical institutions in Asia to implement a pre-participation cardiac screening program for athletes in Asia. The Society attributes its interest in screening at least in part to an Italian study, which found that screening can reduce the sudden death rate by 90 percent. The Society plans to develop a screening process that can be easily adopted by family physicians.

According to Dr. Michael Lim, President of the Society and Medical Director at the Singapore Heart, Stroke and Cancer Center, electrocardiograms (EKGs) may not detect potentially life threatening heart conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Consequently, more comprehensive tests such as echocardiograms should be used, particularly when there is a family history of sudden cardiac death.

October 2, 2007­–NAPLES, FL–The family of a man who died on the campus of The Community School of Naples last spring is suing the school, stating that an automated external defibrillator (AED) that could have saved the man’s life was locked in the nurse’s office.

Anthony Hiller, 38, died at the school April 12th of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and could have been saved if the AED had been accessible, according to the negligence lawsuit filed Sept. 26 in Collier Circuit Court.

The suit contends the school was negligent because it didn’t appropriately train its staff to respond to cardiac emergency; it failed to provide adequate and appropriate notice to staff, students and faculty to the locations of the AEDs; it failed to put an AED in places where a cardiac emergency was most likely to occur, like the field house; and it failed to ensure the AEDs were accessible at all times, including outside normal school hours.