Submitted by SCAFoundation on Tue, 09/25/2007 - 1:46pm

September 25, 2007–CALGARY–Calgary's public school will place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at all 21 senior high schools. The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) says this is the first phase of a plan to have them installed in all of its schools.

According to CBE spokesperson Ted Flitton, high-school students are at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) especially during strenuous physical activity. The AEDs will help not only students and staff, he said, but also community groups that use the schools after hours.

Calgary is the first school district in western Canada to install the lifesaving devices. It will cost $39,270 to outfit all the city's public high schools.

One hundred children die from SCA In Canada each year.