ZOLL Medical Corporation (Nasdaq GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of resuscitation devices and related software solutions, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation today are jointly issuing a reminder in conjunction with SCA Awareness Month in October about the importance of having automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) available in schools and at athletic events. With the start of a new academic year and the onset of the fall athletic season, AEDs need to be available should a student, teacher, staff member, parent and/or visitor fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
“A recent study1 published in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal, Circulation, found that high schools with an AED program in place experienced a high rate of survival for both students and adults who suffered SCA on schools grounds,” said Jonathan A. Rennert, President of ZOLL. “Early CPR and rapid defibrillation combined with early advanced care can result in high long-term survival rates for witnessed cardiac arrest. If more people react quickly by calling 9-1-1 and performing CPR, more lives can be saved.”
The life of 16-year-old Ted Okerstrom, a junior at Wayzata High School, Plymouth, Minnesota, was saved in June with the help of an AED and the quick action of his football coaches and team when he collapsed from SCA during summer conditioning. While his defensive coach started immediate CPR, the athletic department secretary, who is also an EMT, had the fastest runner in the school get the ZOLL AED Plus® into the hands of assistant coach, Ryan Johnson.
“Using the AED Plus took so much pressure off of us. It literally walked us through the steps we needed to take and became our head coach. It advised us what to do, when to push harder when doing chest compressions, and when to administer a shock,” said Johnson. “It was reassuring and so easy to use.” Johnson has been a volunteer on the fire department for six years, but said this was his first save.
“We applaud the leadership of Wayzata High School for their thoughtful preparations and quick, decisive actions,” said Mary Newman, President of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, a national nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh. “It is unlikely Ted would have survived this life threatening incident if the school had not been prepared to effectively fight sudden death.”
This is such an important issue that the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation launched a campaign earlier this year, You Can Save a Life at School ™. The campaign emphasizes the need for schools to ensure that students, faculty, staff and visitors are protected from untimely deaths resulting from sudden cardiac arrest by advancing training and placement of AEDs. ZOLL Medical is one of the key sponsors of this campaign.
“Too many students, particularly athletes, have died at school because no one knew the importance of giving CPR or chest compressions, and using an AED,” said Bobby Khan, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Board of Directors, and Assistant Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine (Cardiology).
“This simply is not acceptable,” said Khan. “All schools across the nations should be prepared to challenge sudden death.”
The AED Plus is the only Full-Rescue AED that features Real CPR Help® to instantly allow bystanders and first responders to see and hear how well they are performing the rate and depth of CPR chest compressions. It is ideal for infrequent rescuers as it guides them through the complete Chain of Survival, helping all sudden cardiac arrest victims, even those for whom a shock is not advised.
About Sudden Cardiac Arrest
SCA is the leading cause of unexpected death, and can strike at any age and without a prior history of heart disease. A victim's chances of survival are reduced by 7 to 10 percent with every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes.
SCA, an abrupt disruption of the heart’s function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs, claims more than 325,000 lives each year in the U.S. Currently, only about 5 percent of victims survive; 95 percent will die from SCA.
About the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Foundation is a national non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its mission is to serve as an information clearinghouse and social marketing force focused on raising awareness about sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), and stimulating attitudinal and behavioral changes that will help save more lives. Initiatives include an online registry for SCA survivors, an online community for people affected by SCA, an awareness campaign for schools, and the "People Saving People" awards. The SCA Foundation maintains a national database of survivors and experts available to speak with the media. For more information, visit http://www.sca-aware.org.
SOURCE: ZOLL Medical Corporation
1Circulation, Aug 2009; 120: 518 - 525. Jonathan A. Drezner et al,Effectiveness of Emergency Response Planning for Sudden Cardiac Arrest in United States High Schools With Automated External Defibrillators.
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