CHARLOTTE, NC--Almost one year to the day that an
automated external defibrillator (AED) helped save her life during sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), state Rep. Becky Carney launched a program Thursday to make the devices
available to others in need.
Carney was among a group of dignitaries gathering
Thursday morning at the Carole Hoefener Center in uptown Charlotte's First Ward
to publicize the Lucky Hearts Campaign.
The program, funded by a large group of businesses,
educational institutions and other organizations, presented 20 AEDs to
Charlotte-area churches. More of the devices will be made available to churches
that serve congregations with large numbers of elderly or low-income people.
"I am pleased a new program will save lives by
increasing the number of portable defibrillators in Charlotte," said
Carney. "I know how important it is to have these devices in public
places."
Carney is a Democrat and former county
commissioner.
Last April 2, Carney, then 64, was in her Raleigh
legislative office when she suffered SCA. Among the
first responders was Mark Fleming, director of government affairs for Blue
Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. Fleming and others used an AED, which
checks a patient's heart rhythm and prompts rescuers through the process of
trying to save a life. Use of the AED is credited with saving Carney's.
Fleming and Blue Cross Blue Shield then decided to
recruit community support for the Lucky Hearts Campaign.
"I am living proof that a defibrillator will
increase the chance of survival to anyone that may experience cardiac arrest in
a public setting," Carney said. Medical authorities say the AED increases
the chance of survival from SCA by 50 percent. National survival rates languish at 6-7 percent, but some communities have achieved survival rates of 50 percent and higher.
SOURCE:
Charlotte Observer