To recognize the 50th anniversary of CPR and National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in October, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Coalition will host a lunchtime briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010, in Washington, D.C. about sudden cardiac arrest and what Congress can do to help save lives.
Lance Becker, MD, Director of the Center for Resuscitation Science and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, keynote speaker, will address the impact of the nation's third leading cause of death* and solutions for improving survival.
Special guests include David Epstein from Sports Illustrated and Robert Langreth and Matthew Herper from Forbes, whose articles have elevated SCA awareness.
The Coalition will be asking Congress to make out-of-hospital cardiac arrest a reportable condition, and make CPR-AED (automated external defibrillator) education a requirement for graduation from high school. In addition, the Coalition will urge members to join the Heart and Stroke Caucus.
The event, scheduled from 12:00-1:15 pm at 2168 Rayburn House Office Building (the “Gold Room”), is open to the public. Lunch will be served. RSVP to Lauren Reliford at Lauren.reliford [at] heart.org () or 202-785-7931.
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is a member of the SCA Coalition Steering Committee. Approximately 30 nonprofit organizations belong to the ad hoc coalition. For more information, visit www.stopcardiacarrest.org.
*Extrapolated from Nichol, JAMA 2008 and CDC data