SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST (SCA) KILLS MORE THAN 450,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR.
Our Mission: Stop the Killer 
- 36% of annual American deaths are cause by Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest is thenumber one killer in the work environment.
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest claims approximately one life every 90 seconds.....over 1,000 lives every day.
- 50% of Sudden Cardiac Arrest deaths in men, and 63% in women, occur in people with no prior symptoms of heart disease.
- A person who suffers SCA outside of a hospital has only a 5% chance of survival.
What is SCA? SCA is an electrical malfunction of the heart which occurs suddenly and without warning resulting in sudden loss of consciousness and pulse.
When SCA occurs, the heart suddenly stops beating normally. The electrical impulses that control the rhythm of the heart become so disorganized that the heart begins beating at an unusually rapid hectic pace and can no longer effectively pump oxygen-rich blood to the brain and other vital organs. The most common type of SCA is known as Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) which occurs 80% of the time. During VF the heart is quivering rather than pumping in a normal rhythm.
Remember, when SCA occurs the blood stops flowing and the brain cells and body begin to die very rapidly. Without a blood supply, oxygen-starved organs are irreversibly damaged and will quickly fail.
DEFIBRILLATION The only effective treatment for Sudden Cardiac Arrest is defibrillation.
Shocking the heart with an electrical current is known as defibrillation. Restarting the heart to a normal pumping rhythm is the only way to effectively treat VF and save a life. While CPR is important; CPR alone will not bring a person back to life during SCA. We must jump start the heart with an electrical current to have any chance of saving a victim's life. A defibrillator is the only device that delivers this potentially life saving shock to the heart.
Time is Critical to Survival
Early defibrillation is vital for survival during Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA).
- When SCA occurs, a victim is essentially dead.
- When defibrillation is delivered within one minute, survival rates can be as high as 90%.
- If defibrillation is delivered in less than 5 minutes, survival can be as high as 50%.
- For every minute that passes prior to receiving defibrillation, a victim's chance of survival declines by about 10%.
- After 10 minutes chances of survival are near zero.
The Chain of Survival
THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR EMS RESPONSE IS 10-12 MINUTES.
To provide the best opportunity for survival, each of these four links must be put into motion within the first few minutes of SCA onset:
Early Access to Emergency Care must be provided by calling 911.
Early CPR should be started and maintained until emergency medical services arrive.
Early Defibrillation is the only way one can restart the heart function of a person with VF. If an automated external defibrillator is available, a trained operator should administer defibrillation as quickly as possible until EMS personnel arrive.
Early Advanced Care, the final link, can then be administered as needed by EMS personnel.
THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION ESTIMATES THAT PROMPT DEFIBRILLATION COULD SAVE AS MANY AS 100,000 LIVES EVERY YEAR.
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