OAKLAND, CA--Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation board member Dr. Joe Farrell, and his wife Edie, recently spoke at the State of the Future of Resuscitation conference in Oakland, California. The conference, hosted by Take Heart America on September 28-29, brought together international experts to discuss a wide range of topics related to advances in resuscitation science and clinical practice.
Edie and Joe shared their experiences during the 10 years since Joe’s survival from SCA through their presentation, “Living with an ICD: A SCA survivor’s and spouse’s perspective.” They discussed the emotions and fears from a survivor’s and spouse’s viewpoint. “Edie emotionally and gracefully articulated that the spouse and families of SCA survivors are often forgotten in the post-survival rehabilitation process,” said Joe.
The Farrells urged researchers to study the causes of SCA from a prevention standpoint and to study the emotional challenges for survivors, spouses and families. Following Edie’s strong emotional plea to remember everyone affected by sudden cardiac arrest, they received a standing ovation. A number of iconic clinicians and researchers later said the presentation will definitely affect their clinical practice and future research.
For information on the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Network, an online community for sudden cardiac arrest survivors, families affected by SCA, healthcare professionals, lay rescuers and other advocates, click here.