The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
Rochester Celebrates 101st Save
September 22, 2007–ROCHESTER, Minn.–Deputy Police Chief Steve Johnston has announced the 101st life saved by first responders in Rochester since the program began nearly 17 years ago. Dr. Roger White, a professor at Mayo Medical School, medical director for Gold Cross Ambulance, and adviser to the SCA Foundation (see bio), initiated… Read More
Firefighters Die Most Often From Sudden Cardiac Arrest
September 21, 2007–ATLANTA–Firefighters are dying on the job from preventable cardiovascular conditions. Death from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) represents the most common cause of a firefighter fatality. According to a new National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) alert, measures by fire departments and fire… Read More
National CPR/AED Awareness Week Introduced in Congress
September 20, 2007–WASHINGTON–The American Red Cross and American Heart Association have joined to applaud federal legislation that would designate the first week of June as “National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Week.” The bill, introduced today by U.S. Representatives John R. “Randy” Kuhl, Jr. (R… Read More
WelchAllyn AEDs Recalled
September 18, 2007–MRL/WelchAllyn has issued a Class I recall of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) manufactured between October 2003 and January 2005 (serial numbers 205787 through 207509). According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a message updated September 18th, the recalled devices may display a “Defib Comm” error message… Read More
Not All Heart Failure Patients Receive Optimal Therapy: Women and Elderly Less Like to Get ICDs
September 17, 2007–MINNEAPOLIS–Baseline data from the largest study of United States-based heart failure (HF) patients in the outpatient setting demonstrate significant gaps and variation in medical care, particularly for women and the elderly. Findings from the Registry to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the… Read More
Three Saves in Three Months at Hawaii Airport
September 15, 2007–HONOLULU–For the third time since July, a life has been saved at a Honolulu International Airport with an automated external defibrillator (AED). Thanks to quick thinking by those around him, a 76-year-old man from New Jersey is alive.Doctors Jonathan Duca and Nanette Duca-Cruz came in on a flight from New Jersey on Saturday,… Read More
National ICD Registry Reports Few Complications with Implantation of Internal Defibrillators
Some Implanting Physicians Lack Formal TrainingSeptember 7, 2007–WASHINGTON–First the good news: First year data from the National ICD Registry indicates few complications with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs). Now the bad news: A number of implanting physicians had no formal training with the medical procedure. The report will be… Read More
Low Risk of Infection with ICDs
September 5, 2007–DALLAS–Device-related infections developed in fewer than 1% of patients within a year of pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation, according to a study to be published in the September 18th issue of Circulation (published online on August 27th). The Prospective Evaluation of Pacemaker Lead… Read More
New CPR Promises Better Results by Compressing Abdomen, Not Chest
Leslie Geddes, the Showalter Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, demonstrates a new technique for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The method promises to be more effective than standard CPR because it increases nourishing blood flow through the heart by 25 percent. Geddes has developed the… Read More