 Since SCA often occurs without warning, it usually happens in places other than the hospital, such as a person's home, place of work, or some other public location. Unfortunately, the majority of these cases result in sudden cardiac death, since proper medical treatment, defibrillation, does not reach the victim in time.
However, community-sponsored defibrillation programs are making an impact. Through a greater availability of AEDs and trained responders, communities are raising survival rates up to an average of 20% and as high as 74%.
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"Public access defibrillation, which places AEDs [automated external defibrillators] in the hands of trained laypersons, has the potential to be the single greatest advance in the treatment of VF (ventricular fibrillation) cardiac arrest since the development of CPR."
The American Heart Association
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Having a defibrillation program in your community - whether it's a community of townspeople, industrial park workers, or mall employees - could make the difference between life and death for you, your family, your neighbors, or your co-workers.
Learn how to champion a program in your community!
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