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Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest - December 6, 2024
Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest is an assortment of current events and news related to emergency cardiac care and resuscitation. Produced by Code One Training Solutions, Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest is published every Friday throughout the year.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Goodness is the only investment that never fails.
-Henry David Thoreau
Girl Scout saves her dad’s life with CPR just days after learning it
A young Girl Scout saved her father’s life using CPR — very soon after learning it.
Vada Carawan, 11, sprang into action after seeing dad Clint Carawan having a heart attack on the floor of their home in Virginia just 11 days after she first practiced CPR on a dummy during a Girl Scout training session, WAVY reported.
“Of course, it was scary,” Vada recalled, saying her panic initially made her forget her new lifesaving skill. “And I started tearing up and I was like, ‘What do I do?’ Like, for a minute there, I was in complete shock. And then I was like, ‘Heart attack … heart attack, 911,’” she told the outlet about last month’s scare.
“Maggie, my dog, was freaking out,” said Vada. “She was trying to wake him up, like, put her paw on there, like trying to wake him up.”
Once she realized the gravity of the situation, Vada began doing chest compressions while on the phone with paramedics, who helped her revive her dad.
Full story: https://nypost.com/2024/12/02/us-news/girl-scout-saves-her-dads-life-with-cpr-just-days-after-learning-it/
How to Save a Life: An Interview with Navy CPR Instructors
NEWPORT NEWS, Va – Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Megan Hooper and Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Hunter Ketch, Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), spearheaded a critical mission aboard the warship: teaching CPR to their fellow crew members. Hooper, originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, joined the Navy in October 2020 without any prior medical training but quickly found herself drawn to the Navy corpsman role. Her interest has led her to become a CPR instructor, and now she helps prepare her shipmates to respond in emergencies.
Ketch, from Oak Ridge, Oregon, enlisted in 2020 as an undesignated airman and initially served aboard the Stennis when it was docked in Norfolk, Virginia. After completing Master-at-Arms training in San Antonio, he returned to Stennis with a growing interest in the medical field. Initially inspired by a Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) training course, Ketch became a CPR instructor in August 2024.
For Sailors, CPR training is more than a certification—it’s a life-saving skill essential for responding to emergencies at sea. With the nearest medical facility often hours away, each trained Sailor becomes a vital asset in the event of a medical crisis, ensuring that the crew is prepared to protect one another both on and off duty.
Source: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/486424/save-life-interview-with-navy-cpr-instructors
Essex-Windsor EMS adds over 1,000 publicly accessible AED’s to its registry
Essex-Windsor EMS marked a milestone on Monday of having more than 1,041 publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs) added to its registry.
EMS staff and members of the public helped register AEDs and raise awareness about how the devices can save lives.
The registry is accessible through a phone app called PulsePoint AED, which allows users to easily upload photos of AEDs and mark their locations on a map.
The information can be accessed by 911 dispatchers, who can quickly direct callers to the nearest AED in cases of cardiac arrest.
Chief Justin Lammers says every minute counts in the event of cardiac arrest.
NOPD deploys 50 new defibrillator devices to patrol cars
Fifty officers will undergo nine weeks of training to become certified as emergency medical responders and qualified to use the new defibrillators
NEW ORLEANS — Between appearances before the City Council last week over a mass shooting and murders at a crowded second line, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick took time out to defibrillate a dummy.
“That kind of looks like me today. ‘Wake up, Chief! Wake up!’” Kirkpatrick quipped as she applied a device to the dummy’s chest.
Kirkpatrick, who spent much of the week addressing outcry over the bloodshed, was at the headquarters of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services to promote an expansion of life-saving capabilities for officers under her watch.
NOPD officers are often first to arrive on a scene in the critical early moments when people need medical attention. Now, 50 of their patrol cars will be equipped with automated external defibrillators like the AED Lifepak CR2 that Kirkpatrick tested, officials said.
Cardiac arrest survivor thanks first responders who saved him
A local man who survived sudden cardiac arrest took time during Thanksgiving weekend to show his gratitude to the first responders who saved his life.
Brian Suarez went into cardiac arrest while driving on June 9.
The first person to respond to the emergency call was Deputy Fire Marshal Eric Comley, who happened to be nearby working on an investigation. Comley arrived within seconds, pulled Suarez from the vehicle and began doing CPR.
Firefighters and EMTs from Aetna Hose Hook and Ladder Company arrived and used a defibrillator, and New Castle County Paramedics provided more advanced care, including additional defibrillations and cardiac medications.
MGH’s Dr. Ali Raja speaks to Newscenter 5 about why December has the highest rate of heart attacks
Studies show December has the highest rate of heart attacks out of any month. Newscenter 5 spoke with the deputy chair of Mass. General’s Emergency Medicine Department, Dr. Ali Raja, on the warning signs of a heart attack and what people can do to help someone experiencing a heart attack while they wait for the ambulance.
Video story: https://www.wcvb.com/article/dr-ali-raja-on-december-heart-attacks/63074326
Woman meets 999 crews who saved her life
A woman has been reunited with the ambulance crews who saved her life when she had a cardiac arrest – saying it was thanks to them “my children still have a mum”.
Sian Deeks, 45, from Scunthorpe, was at her partner’s house on 7 June when she became unresponsive and slumped on the kitchen work surface.
Her partner was advised by the 999 call handler to lie Ms Deeks on the floor and carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) and the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance Service arrived and restarted her heart with a defibrillator.
Read the story here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/woman-meets-999-crews-saved-112157736.html
How a crowd of people came together to save a runner’s life during Victoria race
Over the course of Michael Bohonos’ two-hour resuscitation he’d be revived many times.
Michael Bohonos planned every aspect of his Royal Victoria Marathon run in October, envisioning every possible twist and turn — except one: that his heart would stop six kilometres into an eight-kilometre race.
Over the course of his two-hour resuscitation, he’d be revived many times.
At an awards ceremony at Royal Jubilee Hospital on Wednesday, the race team’s volunteer medics, St. John Ambulance volunteers, B.C. Ambulance paramedics, firefighters, emergency department doctors and cardiac specialists joined in a rare gathering punctuated by tears and laughter as they met one another and shared their part in the larger story of saving Bohonos’s life.
Listen to the article here: https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/how-a-crowd-of-people-came-together-to-save-a-runners-life-during-victoria-race-9887178
Corewell nurse hopes viral life saving moment encourages others to learn CPR
A west Michigan nurse helped save the lives of two people at a football game
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. — A West Michigan nurse’s story has gone viral after saving someone’s life at a football game. Her experience kicked in twice in the span of 15 minutes.
Now she hopes her story can encourage others to learn the basics of CPR that could potentially save someone else.
A registered nurse with Corewell Health in St. Joseph, Erin Mender, was attending a football game in Alabama when a medical emergency happened right next to her.
Students push to equip high schools with AEDs
Tobias Zhang says his high school and the Vancouver School Board (VSB) have denied a request to have an automated external defibrillator — or AED — installed in the school.
He made the request after witnessing his best friend go into cardiac arrest during Grade 9 basketball tryouts at Point Grey Secondary School two years ago, resulting in his tragic and sudden death.
“I found the body of my friend. He was lying on the floor. He was unconscious and had no pulse and his body was turning purple from the lack of oxygen,” Zhang said.
“To me, it made no sense to not have an AED, so I thought this is an issue we can fight for.”
Zhang says when his friend went into cardiac arrest, the 911 dispatcher advised them to use an AED. Because the school did not have one, students had to run to the closest pharmacy — five blocks away — to obtain one.
Zhang says he and his friends raised funds and purchased an AED on their own. But when they attempted to donate it to the school, he says both the school and the VSB refused it.
“They were worried about the installation and maintenance costs,” Zhang said. “They were worried about the equality between schools, and they were worried that the risk of cardiac arrest in children was too low.”
High school student Sarah says this doesn’t make sense.
Video story: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/11/30/vancouver-aeds-high-schools/
Canadian Red Cross explains how music helps people learn CPR
A playlist used as a training tool during CPR classes is aiming to build confidence in administering CPR. Kevin Paes with the Canadian Red Cross joined CTV Morning Live’s Kent Morrison to emphasize the importance of learning CPR.
Watch the interview: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/red-cross-explains-how-music-helps-people-learn-cpr-1.7128339
Life-saving defibrillators fitted at East Cork garda stations
Gardaí in Midleton and Cobh have added a vital piece of lifesaving equipment to their respective stations, unveiling new defibrillators outside their doors.
Superintendent Adrian Gamble told The Echo that the long-term plan was to have a defibrillator at each garda station in the area, with Youghal “in the pipeline”, and then the other stations in the area in the future.
Ger O’Dea, community engagement officer with the National Ambulance Service, said that having a defibrillator at the scene of a cardiac arrest as soon as possible was of the utmost importance.
“Currently we have 4,000 defibrillators registered on our system, and they are such a valuable piece of equipment,” Mr O’Dea said. “It’s great that An Garda Síochána have allowed their installation at their premises and I’m sure that it will benefit the communities of Midleton and Cobh.”
Source: https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-41527265.html
The impact of smartphone-dispatched CPR-trained volunteers on OHCA outcomes is influenced by patient age
In a retrospective nonrandomized cohort study, all OHCA cases in the city of Aachen over a six-year period were analysed. We compared patient data, CPR metrics, alerting system data as well as outcome data between the intervention and control groups. From June 2017 to May 2023, 101 out of 852 resuscitations were initiated by volunteers alerted via a smartphone-based alerting system in OHCA events.
Learn more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-81263-8
Quebec dragging its feet on getting defibrillators in public spaces, foundation says
In 2022, Quebec announced a plan to install 1,000 automatic external defibrillators in public spaces. Two years later, 900 of them have yet to be deployed.
Improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) would increase the number of cardiac arrest survivors by nearly 50 per cent, according to the Jacques-de Champlain Foundation. The foundation has denounced what it describes as inaction by the Legault government in implementing its own plan aimed at deploying more AEDs in Quebec.
ENCORE: 911-initiated AED Response: Would you be willing to bring your AED to someone nearby experiencing a cardiac arrest?
In 2020, the American Heart Association began recommending the use of mobile phone technology by emergency dispatch systems to summon willing bystanders to events nearby that might require CPR or AED use. The success of systems like PulsePoint in the United States, Heartrunner in Denmark, and GoodSam in the UK prompted this guideline revision. These systems recruit trained individuals to respond to nearby cardiac arrest events and begin the chain of survival earlier and more often.
Now, emergency AED registries are informing dispatchers of AEDs near reported cardiac arrest events. Similar to providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction (T-CPR), equipping call takers with AED locations (T-AED) allows telecommunicators to inform callers of nearby defibrillators. Leading emergency medical dispatch (EMD) and tactical map suppliers have integrated AED locations into their standard pre-arrival instructions, significantly reducing the effort required to incorporate AED locations into call-taking workflows. While today, it’s considered a best practice for emergency dispatchers to provide CPR instructions to callers reporting unconscious/unresponsive victims, recommending nearby AEDs is the natural next step in expediting the chain of survival.
VIDEO PICK: Rapid City Police – Aug. 27, 2011- Cardiac Arrest
At 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 27, Jeff Seamans driving through Rapid City with his wife and stepdaughter on their way to Montana. Seamans was a passenger in the car when he went into cardiac arrest; his wife called 911 for help. Officer Kathleen Callery was the first officer on scene, and was quickly joined by Officer Chris Hunt and Officer Michael Frybarger. The trio administered CPR and an AED shock while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. As the officers worked to save Seamans’ life, nurse Laurie Mills drove past the scene. She jumped in to assist the officers, helping to administer chest compressions as medics arrived. EMS took over CPR, and within minutes, Seamans was breathing on his own. Seamans was transported to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where he recovered and was released several days later.
SPOTLIGHT: One Shot Foundation
The Matthew Mangine Jr. “One Shot” Foundation was started by Kim and Matt Mangine Sr. to educate parents, coaches, and athletes about the number of preventable sudden deaths.
Learn more: https://www.oneshot.life/about/
Did you catch something in the news related to resuscitation recently that you would like to see in this digest? Want to spotlight an event or activity aimed at improving cardiac arrest outcomes?
Feel free to email david@code1web.com
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