The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
Three Deaths in One Week: Are Student Athletes Safe at School?
By Mary NewmanTragedy struck three high school students and their families in the past week. Wes Leonard, Matthew Hammerdorfer, and Sarah Landauer never knew each other, but they suffered a similar fate. On March 3, star player Wes,16, had just taken the winning shot in overtime at a basketball game at Fennville High School in Fennville, Michigan… Read More
Gainesville Athlete Who Collapsed Monday Dies Early This Morning
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A Florida high school athlete who collapsed during track and field drills has died. Eastside High School Assistant Principal James Sheppard says 17-year-old Sarah Landauer died early Wednesday at a Gainesville hospital. Landauer had been hospitalized since Monday after she collapsed during track practice. The Alachua County… Read More
Another High School Student Dies from SCA
DENVER--A 17 year-old Fort Collins resident who collapsed during a rugby match in Timnath had an enlarged heart and died of cardiac arrest, according to the Larimer County Coroners office. Matthew Hammerdorfer had at least one surgery to correct the congenital defect when he was eight years old, Kari Jones, Larimer deputy coroner, said Sunday. The… Read More
96 Minutes of CPR Save 54-Year-Old Man
GOODHUE, MN--A 54-year-old Goodhue man is alive and well thanks to the heroic efforts of a team of first responders who chose not to give up on the man, who was lifeless for more than an hour and a half. It began as a quick run to the grocery store to get some last minute things for dinner, but Howard Snitzer wouldn’t even make it through the… Read More
High School Basketball Star Dies on Court
Wes Leonard, star of the Fennville High basketball team, died of cardiac arrest brought on by a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, said the Ottawa County, Mich., medical examiner Friday. People with dilated cardiomyopathy have enlarged and weakened hearts that cannot pump blood through the body efficiently. In some cases, including Leonard'… Read More
Medtronic Foundation Launches Heart Rescue Project
The Medtronic Foundation announced today a $15 million commitment to reduce sudden cardiac arrest deaths in the United States. The HeartRescue Project assembles the country’s leading emergency and resuscitation experts to expand successful city and county sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) response programs to statewide levels. The goal is to improve… Read More
SCA Survival: A Wicked Problem
Rates of survival from sudden cardiac arrest have languished for decades, despite 40 years of exhaustive efforts to improve the situation, according to Larry Starr, PhD, and Allan Braslow, PhD, in an article published today at JEMS Online. Starr and Braslow are spearheading a Special Task Force on Reshaping the System of Survival through the… Read More
Yorkshire Air Ambulance Saves One of Their Own
Christopher Solomons Wakefield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom – 48 at time of event (2010) As an emergency medical dispatcher for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Christopher Solomons had answered countless calls for help from people who'd witnessed someone collapse in sudden cardiac arrest. Chris never expected he would become the one who… Read More
Saved by a Vest
COLUMBUS, Ga. --A Columbus man got the jolt of his life, literally, when the defibrillator he was wearing kicked in and saved his life.He’s the first person on record to be rescued by this device in Columbus, according to Zoll Medical Corporation, the company that makes the device. It’s revolutionary, yet not many doctors are prescribing it.Sharon… Read More