National AED Readiness Project Aims to Help Individuals and Organizations Prepare for Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) August 06, 2014 -- The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation and Enerspect Medical Solutions have joined forces to launch the AED Readiness Project, a national initiative to improve access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in locations that might otherwise lack opportunities to acquire the lifesaving devices.
AEDs are used to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest, a life-threatening condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating, usually without warning. SCA strikes about 1,000 people each day in the U.S. and only 10 percent of victims survive. The number of fatalities is equivalent to the number of people who would die if three jumbo jets crashed every single day, killing nearly everyone on board.
Sudden cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack. A person who suffers a heart attack is conscious and breathing. A person who suffers cardiac arrest is unconscious and not breathing normally. Sudden cardiac arrest turns fatal within minutes unless someone helps immediately by giving CPR and using a defibrillator to restore a normal heartbeat. In fact, survival rates increase from 10 to 40 percent when bystanders use defibrillators to help cardiac arrest victims before emergency medical services arrive at the scene.
AEDs are safe and effective user-friendly devices designed for use by laypersons with little or no training. They provide visual and voice prompts and will never deliver a therapeutic shock to restart the heart unless one is needed.
Yet new AEDs are sometimes cost-prohibitive for organizations such as schools, sports teams, places of worship, and small businesses. And since 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occur in the home, the AED Readiness Project provides an ideal solution for individuals who would like to be better prepared to help family members, visitors, and neighbors in case of emergency.
“Immediate use of AEDs saves lives," said Norman S. Abramson, MD, SCA Foundation medical director. "We believe the AED Readiness Project will enable proactive individuals and organizations become better prepared to respond to sudden cardiac arrest. This initiative will not only strengthen our nonprofit's mission to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and help save lives, but will also provide a solution for those who have struggled with the challenge of raising sufficient funds to acquire new AEDs.”
David Shelton, Enerspect president and CEO agrees. “The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation has a long history of creating community awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and the preparations needed to save lives. We all recognize that more lives will be saved through greater proliferation of AEDs.”
For more information about the AED Readiness Project, click here. This offer is good in the U.S. only, while supplies last.
About the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is a national community benefit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to raising awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and saving lives. Programs include educational campaigns for secondary schools and colleges and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Network, an online community that provides peer support and opportunities for survivors and family members to participate in awareness, advocacy, and research initiatives.
About Enerspect Medical Solutions
With 30 years of experience in the emergency medical response market, the Enerspect team offers solutions focused on strengthening emergency response systems to improve overall medical outcomes through training and innovative technology solutions.
Mary Newman, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, http://www.sca-aware.org, +1 7249340034, [email protected]
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