The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
Drake University Graduate Celebrates Her Father's Survival
Drake University senior Cassaundra Koenen missed the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony Saturday morning because her father, Glenn Koenen, suffered a heart attack in the stands at the Drake Knapp Center about a half hour before the ceremony, which began at 10 a.m. Drake staff members, along with an emergency room nurse and a doctor in the… Read More
Heart Rhythm Society Calls for Better Surveillance of ICD Lead Wires
Defibrillator lead wires need better surveillance to detect defects, a group of heart doctors has said. The Heart Rhythm Society also called on hospitals to train doctors in the delicate procedure of removing such wires from patients. A lead is a wire that connects an implantable defibrillator to the heart. If a lead breaks, the defibrillator can… Read More
Need Real Time CPR Help? We Have an App for That…
New Application for CPR and Choking Available for IPhone and Google PhoneMickey Eisenberg, MD, renowned researcher from the University of Washington, has announced release of a free new Apple application that instructs users how to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and choking. "Getting the message on how to do CPR to as many people as… Read More
Study Shows AEDs Save Lives in Subways
The use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places such as subways can save lives, new research from Germany shows. A study of AEDs installed in Munich subways found they saved the lives of 12 people suffering heart attacks since the AEDs' installation in 2001. The defibrillators are increasingly common in public facilities,… Read More
Landmark Study, "MADIT II", Supports Use of Implantable Defibrillators
High Risk Patients Live Longer with ICD Therapy A landmark follow-up study found that heart attack survivors who receive implanted cardioverter defibriillators (ICDs) live longer the longer they have them, according to the results of a late-breaking clinical trial presented today at the annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society. ICDs… Read More
The Joint Commission Hosts Panel on SCA Performance Measurement
SCA Foundation Participates as Stakeholder The Joint Commission (JC) conducted a national stakeholder panel on Sudden Cardiac Arrest Performance Measurement on April 22 in Chicago. The panel was tasked with: Determining whether there is a need for a performance measurement set for the prevention and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) If… Read More
Fastpitch No More
Danielle Burkett, Warner Robins, GA – 18 at time of event (2008) She played 2nd base for the Georgia Elite Gold fastpitch softball team, and had been playing for ten years. She is no longer. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know, no one did. Danielle went to Irvine, California for a tournament in the summer of ‘08. But, she didn’t come back with… Read More
Three Angels And A Special Shirt
Roger Watson Jr., Pinehurst, NC – 62 at time of event (2006) Three times in combat and once in civilian life; it was that last one that nearly got him. Roger was a Lt. Colonel in the Special Forces, so he was used to dangerous situations. But he’d retired years ago, so it was a surprise to everyone that the most dangerous situation he’d ever… Read More
He Was The Healthiest One
Vince Graziano, Patchogue, NY – 40 at time of event (2009) If you swim for nearly an hour a day, ride a bike 100 miles without a thought, and generally keep yourself in shape, you’d expect to be heart healthy, right? Well, not so. Not according to Vince. He’d just started work after his morning swim at the YMCA in downtown Manhattan. The usual… Read More