The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.
Defibrillator Sent for More Tests
TORONTO, ON--A public access defibrillator at a downtown TTC station has been sent to the manufacturer for testing after it apparently failed earlier this month when subway riders tried to shock a fellow commuter who suffered (sudden cardiac arrest). The automated external defibrillator at Museum Station, one of 1,400 such medical devices in the… Read More
CMS Issues New Surveyor Guidance on Initiating CPR in Nursing Homes and Facility CPR/DNR Policies
In a highly publicized recent case in California, a registered nurse working in an independent living facility refused to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an elderly resident who was experiencing respiratory distress. The nurse refused to start CPR even when the 911 dispatcher begged her to start CPR or to find someone, even a… Read More
AED Failed to Charge When It Was Needed
TORONTO, ON--It turns out defibrillators can’t miraculously save lives if they can’t be turned on. A man needed life-saving help earlier this month but, although there were people on scene willing to provide it, a failed battery prevented any opportunity for a happy ending. The good news for a man who went into cardiac arrest on the Toronto subway… Read More
Defibrillators May Be Hard to Find in Emergencies: CBC investigation
OTTAWA, ON--They can help increase your chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by 75 per cent, but a shocking number of Canada’s automated external defibrillators (AEDs) may be inaccessible to the public during an emergency because they are locked away or not registered with 911 personnel. A CBC Marketplace investigation found that the potential… Read More
'In Living Color' Actor Jay Leggett Dies at 50
Jay Leggett, who appeared on In Living Color and had stints on NYPD Blue and Ally McBeal, died Saturday, reports The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The comic actor was 50. Leggett died at a family cabin in Tomahawk, Wis., where he grew up, after returning from a deer hunt on the first day of the state's gun deer season. Emergency crews were called to… Read More
Surrogates Often Make Call to Deactivate Heart Devices
People who have implanted heart devices rarely have advance directives indicating whether they want them deactivated near the end of life, according to a new study. So the decision often has to be made by loved ones. So-called cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are used to treat arrhythmias, conditions in which the heart beats… Read More
MyHeartMapSeattle Scavenger Hunters Report Over 2,000 Defibrillators
SEATTLE, WA--On Oct. 15, Dr. Graham Nichol, UW professor of medicine and director of the UW-Harborview Center for Prehospital Emergency Care, launched MyHeartMap Seattle. This was a month-long, city-wide scavenger hunt to discover all of Seattle’s automated external defibrillators, or AEDs. The winner or winning team would be awarded $10,000… Read More
MCUL Launches Life-Saving Project: An AED in Every Michigan Credit Union Branch
LANSING, MI--With their guiding philosophy of "people helping people," credit unions like to think of themselves as being at the hearts of their communities, and thanks to a new program they are taking that commitment literally. The Michigan Credit Union League wants to make sure credit union members and employees have the best possible chance of… Read More
Teeth Called Lacking on Defibrillator Law
BOSTON, MA--Kingston officials, gym users, and health advocates agree the state law requiring gyms and fitness clubs to have defibrillators on site and staff trained to use them is an important life-saving tool, but they say there’s a lack of inspections and enforcement to ensure the devices work properly. “There needs to be enforcement of the… Read More