I'm still standing....

I wrote my survivor story, so I won't repeat that here, but I survived SCA on Friday, 2/28/2020 in a restaurant that could not find their AED unit, but DID happen to have a retired firefighter at the table next to us. I will forever be grateful to this kind man who saved my life, keeping me going… Read More
2018 team members

Your virtual walk can save lives and win an AED!

Every year, we take a step for survival by creating a team at the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community. This year’s walk has gone virtual, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is still participating. We encourage survivors, family members and other advocates near and far to join or support our… Read More
7 in 10 happen at home

Home is where the heart is. Shouldn't an AED be there too?

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting 1,000 people every day including children and teens. Of these individuals, only 10% survive. Those who do make it invariably received immediate bystander CPR and treatment with an automated external defibrillator (AED). Now… Read More

My Brother's Story

My brother had a heart attack on March 23, 2020. Paramedics had to perform CPR from the time they got to him until they arrived at the hospital. He was without oxygen to the brain from 6 to 13 minutes. By the Grace of God, he survived. He had surgery to implant a defibrillator. He was just released… Read More

Hallucination and memory loss after SCA

Hi, My mom had a CA two weeks ago at home. CPR was performed immediately by family members for 5 minutes until EMT arrived and resuscitated her to a pulse. She arrived at the hospital kicking and pulling tubes and had to be sedated. She was moved from the ICU to the normal unit 2 days ago and is… Read More
Vicki Vetter, MD

Should we screen youth for conditions associated with sudden cardiac arrest?

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops. Without intervention, sudden cardiac death (SCD) occurs. SCA is the third leading cause of death in the United States (US), with over 350,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests annually, one every 90 seconds.… Read More
Parent Heart Watch Memorial

Legacy of the Lost

I was honored to attend Parent Heart Watch’s 15th Annual Heart to Heart conference in Tampa, Florida, last weekend. It was great to see so many old friends and to meet so many new ones. It was a gathering like no other in the sudden cardiac arrest space. It was filled with pain about loss, joy… Read More

Is RVLM (Medulla) safety mandatory for life?

In SCA and many critical conditions death ensues the loss of blood pressure due to RVLM debacle. To save life should we safeguard first RVLM and secondarily the brain and thirdly the heart?

Brugada

Hi All, my youngest son had his first sca a year and a half ago. It was very traumatic but he survived. He was diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome and has had a defib fitted. We began to feel that he was then infallible but last Sunday he had another episode and the defib shocked him twice to bring him… Read More

The Law Protects AED Rescuers

By Steve Tannenbaum Did you know that the law actually encourages lay people and bystanders to perform CPR and to use an AED on people who have suffered from sudden cardiac arrest and that it actually protects them from litigation? Traditionally, the public has been concerned about performing CPR… Read More