The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
Seeing Fabrice Smile is the Best News of the Day
The family of Bolton's Fabrice Muamba posted a picture of him on Twitter from his hospital room. It is the first public photo of Muamba since he suffered a cardiac arrest in the FA Cup tie against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on 17 March. The 23-year-old collapsed on the pitch after 41 minutes of play and was "dead" for 78 minutes. He was given… Read More
Underweight Patients Face Increased RIsks During ICD Therapy
First large-scale study to compare outcomes based on body size finds being small, rather than large, confers greatest risk CHICAGO -- Patients who are underweight or small in stature are twice as likely to experience complications or die during insertion of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) compared to obese and normal-weight… Read More
FIFA to Study SCA Cases in Soccer
Following Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba’s cardiac arrest, the subject of heart screening in football has once again become a focus for discussion. It is an issue that no-one in football, at any level of the game, can afford to take lightly and FIFA are doing everything they can to ensure that the screen of players is the best it can… Read More
FIFA to Study SCA Cases in Soccer
ZURICH—FIFA will be studying cardiac arrest cases involving soccer players to learn what caused Bolton's Fabrice Muamba to collapse during a match. FIFA's chief medical officer said the project will be put forward at FIFA's medical conference on May 23-24 in Budapest, Hungary. "We have invited all national-team doctors to establish a worldwide… Read More
Cardiac Pre-Participation Screening Too Restrictive for Black Athletes
CHICAGO — Many athletes undergo cardiac screening to detect possible heart conditions before being allowed to participate in student or professional sports. Current European screening guidelines, which are based on data from white athletes, can lead to the over-investigation and potential false disqualification of healthy athletes of African or… Read More
Widespread CPR Training Saves Lives
CHICAGO--A nationwide effort in Denmark to increase the number of people trained in CPR led to an increase in bystander CPR and ultimately contributed to increased cardiac arrest survival rates in that country, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology’s 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the… Read More
Bringing Fabrice Muamba Back to Life
The UK Bolton Wanderers team doctor Jonathan Tobin revealed on Wednesday that doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive Muamba for 48 minutes before he arrived at the London Chest Hospital. It took another 30 minutes before the 23-year-old Muamba’s heart started beating again after 15 shocks. “In effect, he was dead in that time,” Dr. Tobin said. Dr… Read More
UK Soccer Player Survives Sudden Death, Shows Signs of Improvement
Teammates and Opponents Request Heart Screens LONDON--Fabrice Muamba, 23, an English Premier League soccer midfielder with the Bolton Wanderers, collapsed in sudden cardiac arrest during the televised Football Association Cup quarter finals on Saturday. He was given CPR and treated with a defibrillator at the scene. Muamba remains in intensive… Read More
Resuscitation Skills Among Doctors and Nurses Fade Quickly If Unused
Current guidelines "not optimal" Doctors and nurses are trained in how to save a cardiac arrest victim's life, but those skills can fade quickly if they're not used, a new study shows. In a review of 11 international studies, researchers found that health providers' skills in advanced life support typically deteriorated six months to a year… Read More