The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
October is National SCA Awareness Month. Seven common myths may be barriers to understanding and action.
PITTSBURGH, PA -- Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a major public health crisis, affecting about 1,000 people in community settings every day in the U.S. Sadly, survival to hospital discharge after EMS-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is only about 10 percent. Recent highly publicized stories of SCA survival highlight the urgent need… Read More
City of Bexley, Ohio, to launch HEARTSafe Bexley at community event on October 1
New program is designed to teach bystanders to save lives in sudden cardiac arrest cases through CPR and AED training. Funding is available to help individuals and organizations that complete the training to purchase AEDs. BEXLEY, OH--Sudden cardiac arrest is a national public health crisis. There are about 356,000 sudden cardiac arrest cases… Read More
Can you stop an overdose death? Updated guidelines may help
Saving lives after an opioid overdose isn't just the job of emergency department workers, according to guidelines on how to treat heart-stopping poisonings. Opioids are just one of the substances addressed in the updated American Heart Association guidelines. But the threat posed by overdoses from such drugs, particularly fentanyl, is immense,… Read More
Women less likely to be given CPR than men in public places
BARCELONA -- Bystanders are less likely to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to women than men, particularly if the emergency takes place in a public area, according to research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress today. The study also shows that in private locations older people, especially older men, are less likely to… Read More
Patients recall death experiences after cardiac arrest
Up to an hour after their hearts had stopped, some patients revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had clear memories afterward of experiencing death and while unconscious had brain patterns linked to thought and memory. This is the finding of a study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in cooperation with 25 mostly U.S… Read More
The best defense against sudden cardiac death: Emergency action plans, CPR and AEDs
Key takeaways: A well-planned, well-rehearsed emergency action plan is essential to prevent death from on-field sudden cardiac arrest. Such a plan was successfully followed after the collapse of NFL player Damar Hamlin. Editor’s Note: Sept. 7 marks the beginning of the 2023 NFL season. On Sept. 11, Damar Hamlin will play his first game… Read More
New Damar Hamlin PSA set to kick off a lifesaving football season
Damar Hamlin, national ambassador to the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers movement, encourages all fans to learn lifesaving skill DALLAS, TX -- As professional football returns to stadiums across the country, Damar Hamlin is speaking out to encourage fans everywhere to be ready in a cardiac emergency. Hamlin, professional… Read More
Paging friends and family: Caregivers crucial to in-hospital cardiac arrest survivors
People who provide care for loved ones in the years following a cardiac arrest in the hospital are critical to the survivor's recovery. But while doing so can create a sense of purpose, it also pulls caregivers away from their social networks and disrupts their lives and relationships, new research finds. The study, published Wednesday in the… Read More
Cardiac arrest survival at EMS agencies in catchment areas with primarily Black and Hispanic populations
Risk-standardized survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were 1.9% lower at emergency medical service (EMS) agencies working in Black and Hispanic catchment areas than in white catchment areas in this study including 764 EMS agencies. This difference was not explained by EMS response times, rates of EMS termination of resuscitation, or… Read More