The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.

Mild Cooling Used to Prevent Brain Damage

January 23, 2007 – Andy Nelson, 58, of Longwood, Florida, recently suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) while mowing his lawn. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him on the way to the hospital. Finally, his heart was shocked back to life, but he remained in a coma. To prevent brain damage, Nelson was treated with mild therapeutic hypothermia using… Read More

Legislator Wants AEDs in More Public Places

January 22, 2007 - Joseph Sanfilippo, D-Binghamton (NY), would like to improve access to early defibrillation in Broome County, NY. A state law that goes into effect in September will require places of public assembly with a capacity of 1,000 or more to have a defibrillator on site and to have someone trained to use it. Sanfilippo plans to… Read More

SCA Strikes During Paramedic Class

January 22, 2007 – NEW YORK – Jeffrey Sanger, 39, was preparing for his paramedic training class at the Emergency Medical Service Training Center in Fort Totten, Queens last Friday, when he began to have chest pains and become pale and sweaty. Like many heart attack victims, he protested that he was okay. Then he collapsed in full cardiac arrest.… Read More

Pittsburgh Sheriff Survives SCA

January 9, 2007– Acting Allegheny County Sheriff William P. Mullen, Jr. survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) while playing basketball, thanks to the quick actions of retired Pittsburgh police Sgt. Paul McComb and city Detective Paul Dugan, who provided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on Mullen… Read More

Legal Expert Advocates Revamping AED and 9-1-1 Laws - Model Legislation Proposed

January 4, 2007--Current AED laws impede the deployment of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and do not protect all AED program participants from liability, according to Richard A. Lazar, Esq., a leading expert in AED program design and operations, risk management, law and public policy. According to Lazar, who serves as a member of the SCA… Read More

Boy Struck in Chest at Ball Game Fights for Life

June 9, 2006 - WAYNE, NJ - Twelve-year old Steven Domalewski was pitching in a Police Athletic League game in Wayne, NJ, on June 6th when he was struck in the chest by the ball, leading to commotio cordis, a cause of sudden cardiac arrest in children. Several onlookers provided cardiopulmonary resuscitation… Read More

Rural AED Act Resuscitated but in Poor Condition

June 7, 2006 - HUMESTON, IA - The Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations subcommittee has earmarked $1.5 million for Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices Grant Program, "rejecting efforts of the Administration to terminate the initiative." The program provides funding to rural communities… Read More

OSHA Issues Best Practices Guide for Workplace Safety that Addresses AED Programs

June 9, 2006 - WASHINGTON, DC - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued Best Practices Guide: Fundamentals of a Workplace First-Aid Program (OSHA 3317-05N 2006), a new guide to help employers and employees develop workplace first aid programs. “A workplace first-aid… Read More

Test Detects Need for ICD

June 5, 2006 - A test that picks up a nearly undetectable variation in the heartbeat helps single out heart attack survivors who are likely to develop potentially deadly heart rhythms, reports the June issue of the Harvard Heart Letter. These are the people who would most benefit from getting a… Read More