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.
Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.
Swami Sivananda
To get an AED in Kentucky, you have to pay extra to a doctor. New bill aims to change that
Kentucky lawmakers are revisiting language in a 24-year-old law that deals with automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, to make the life-saving devices more accessible.
A year ago, viewers across the U.S. saw the power of an AED when it was used during a Monday Night Football game to save the life of a player.
House Bill 22, from Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, seeks to amend part of the existing AED law.
The portion of the law not under revision provides immunity protection for AED users, known as a Good Samaritan Law. The portion targeted by HB22 deals with the required medical oversight of an AED by a licensed physician.
That’s the part of the law that may have kept small businesses and the public in Kentucky from more easily obtaining the devices for the last 24 years.
Additional 24/7 accessible AEDs deployed in Roanoke, VA
To kickstart American Heart Month, Vice Mayor Joe Cobb and local business AED team unveiled the AED located at the Star. This is a part of Roanoke’s outdoor defibrillator initiative, a significant milestone in enhancing public safety and providing critical emergency support to community members and visitors.
“I am proud that the hearts of Roanoke’s citizens and visitors are better protected today thanks to the installation of five new 24/7 accessible AEDs in our most visited outdoor parks,” said Roanoke Vice Mayor Joe Cobb. “This is just one more example of how Roanoke is leading the charge in Southwest Virginia in cardiac health and care.”
Watch: https://www.wdbj7.com/video/2024/02/01/aed-now-available-mill-mountain-star/
Watch Your Own Heart Attack
Early warning signs of heart attack shouldn’t be taken lightly. Want to know what it feels like? Watch this two-minute hard hitting video which illustrates how it feels.
Video: https://youtu.be/qe_Qq9c0Rbs?si=8OjXY1bCLZqKSXSt
Related: In an effort to improve awareness, Code One Training Solutions has partnered with the American College of Cardiology to help disseminate Early Heart Attack Care or EHAC. Take the course here and share this lifesaving information with all those who you care about.
Access the EHAC course: https://deputyheartattack.acc.org/intro-ehac-code-one.html
Fact: Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. It’s a third of our mothers, sisters, friends, neighbors, coworkers and more. It’s a third of the women we can’t bear to live without.
Fact: Cardiovascular disease impacts some women at higher rates than others, but the simple truth is that most cardiovascular diseases can still be prevented with education and healthy lifestyle changes.
Fact: Heart disease and stroke can affect a woman at any age, making it vital for all women to understand their personal risk factors and family history. Women can also experience unique life events that can impact their risk, including pregnancy and menopause. Furthermore, research shows that stress may impact health, making it important for women to understand the mind-body connection and how to focus on improving both their physical health and mental well-being.
Fact: Losing even one woman to cardiovascular disease is too many.
Learn more: https://www.goredforwomen.org/en/about-heart-disease-in-women/facts
Drug overdoses resulting in cardiac arrest occur most often among young adults, a new study finds.
People tend to have OD-related cardiac arrests at an average age of 39, compared to an average age of 64 for those suffering cardiac arrests not related to opioids, results show.
“Many communities face ongoing challenges with increases in drug overdoses, which tend to affect a younger, healthier population,” said lead researcher Aditya Shekhar, a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
“Given the recent increases in drug overdose-associated deaths, there is immense public health interest to better understand these types of cardiac arrests and how to treat them,” Shekhar added.
Key Takeaways:
- Young adults are most at risk for cardiac arrest due to a drug overdose
- OD-related cardiac arrests occur around age 39, on average, compared to 64 for cardiac arrests caused by other reasons
- OD-related cardiac arrests are more survivable and have better brain outcomes
“Just a little heart attack”
Elizabeth Banks is known for her comedic acting style, but acknowledges there’s nothing funny about a heart attack. However, humor is exactly the approach Banks took in the entertaining video she produced on the subject, Just a Little Heart Attack.
Despite its lighthearted approach, this video is meant to be a wake-up call for busy women who tend to ignore common symptoms.
In this video, Banks acts out many of the heart attack symptoms that are common in women, but not commonly known. She goes on to show how women go to great pains to take care of their families and friends, while ignoring their own needs – even being apologetic for bothering the 9-1-1 dispatcher, and more concerned about the mess in the house that will greet the emergency medics.
Watch this. Share this: https://youtu.be/t7wmPWTnDbE?si=LSeOdpf5S4hULe3k
How Valuable Are YouTube’s New First Aid Videos?
Last month, YouTube announced a new health initiative: curated video playlists intended to provide quick, reliable information when first aid is necessary.
The videos, referred to as “first aid information health shelves,” demonstrate first aid procedures ranging from how to perform CPR to how to identify a heart attack or stroke.
When you look up one of the included conditions, these videos will appear pinned to the top of the search results page.
“People are looking for information they can digest quickly, and videos are a big part of that,” Garth Graham, MD, MPH, Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health
Partnerships at Google and YouTube, told Verywell. “We want to make public health public, and present information in a way that’s easy to find, engaging, and important.”
Source: https://www.verywellhealth.com/youtube-first-aid-videos-8553821
Red Cross challenges all Coloradans to have at least one person in the home who knows CPR
DENVER —The American Red Cross of Mile High is celebrating the 60th anniversary of American Heart Month by challenging all Coloradans to have at least one person in their homes who knows CPR or Hands-Only CPR.
February is National Heart Month, the perfect time to register for a CPR class because every second counts when someone is having a heart attack or in cardiac arrest. Knowing what to do can help save that person’s life.
Listen or read: https://www.longmontleader.com/local-news/red-cross-challenges-all-coloradans-to-have-at-least-one-person-in-the-home-who-knows-cpr-821089
Giant Food launches CPR certification program
BALTIMORE — A majority of people don’t know CPR, even though it literally helps save lives. Now, Giant Food is becoming the area’s first retail pharmacy to launch a CPR certification program. Giant has eight certified instructors who teach businesses and groups how to perform adult and child CPR, and how to use an AED defibrillator.
Paul Zvaleny, director of pharmacy operations at Giant Food, said the supermarket chain decided to launch the program after local organizations kept reaching out and asking if Giant could certify them. He said they’ve had everyone from churches to attorney’s offices to daycares and even auto repair shops express interest in CPR certification.
Source: https://www.wmar2news.com/local/giant-food-launches-cpr-certification-program
ENCORE-The American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2030 Impact Goals and Call to Action to Improve Cardiac Arrest Outcomes
Despite significant advances in research, education, clinical practice, and community-based programs, survival from cardiac arrest remains low.
Significant disparities also exist in cardiac arrest outcomes.
Top Things to Know: https://professional.heart.org/en/science-news/the-aha-ecc-2030-impact-goals-and-call-to-action-to-improve-cardiac-arrest-outcomes/top-things-to-know
Link directly to the Scientific Statement in Circulation: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001196
CK student helps district become Heart Safe with Project Adam
Isabella Paris, an eighth-grade student at Claysburg-Kimmel and a member of the district’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), has developed a community service project titled “Keep the Beat.”
The project, which includes a public speaking component, focuses on preparing the community and school in the case of a sudden cardiac event. Paris wrote a grant to the Nason Foundation and was rewarded with two automated external defibrillators (AED) for the district’s new outdoor sporting complex.
According to Dr. Muhammad Aftab from UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, approximately one in 50,000-80,000 young athletes each year die from cardiac arrest, accounting for 75% of deaths in young athletes. Studies show that if an AED is used within the first three minutes of collapse, their survival rate is almost 90%.
Paris helped organize and participate in a staff CPR training in October and received CPR/AED certification, giving her more insight for the project. For this training, she organized two classes after school that allowed coaches inside the district to also get CPR/AED certified. She contacted local AMED CPR instructors Roger Lingenfelter and Joe Claar, who donated their time and supported the project.
Read or listen here: https://www.bedfordgazette.com/news/local/ck-student-helps-district-become-heart-safe/article_c8f1ccd6-b9d0-5e87-99a8-2a80247e8404.html
Girgarre (AU) welcomes new 24/7 defibrillator
Girgarre locals are now better equipped in an emergency following the recent installation of a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) which is accessible 24/7 for the community.
Ambulance Victoria (AV) donated the life-saving device to the Girgarre township following last year’s success of the Heart Safe Community Program in nearby Stanhope.
The Heart Safe Community initiative aims to improve survival rates for people suffering cardiac arrest across Victoria by teaching community members how to perform CPR and use an AED when others need it most. This is a joint initiative between Ambulance Victoria and the Heart Foundation.
Source: https://www.miragenews.com/girgarre-welcomes-new-247-defibrillator-1169087/
After Damar Hamlin collapse, Md. exploring cardiac emergency response plans for school events
In an effort to keep kids safer at sporting events, the American Heart Association is working on legislation that would require public schools to establish, utilize and maintain cardiac emergency response plans (CERPs) at games for those playing and in attendance. In Maryland, schools do have general plans around emergency responses during sporting events including having an AED in place.
Brooks and Del. Jessica Feldmark (Howard County) are sponsoring the legislation. There is no date yet for when it will appear before the General Assembly.
Laura Hale, AHA’s state government relations director in Maryland, said the nonprofit’s work is based on science with the focus on working to make a difference in building longer healthier lives. “Where the science has been leading us for a long time is that having these kinds of plans in place makes a huge difference in the terms of outcomes when people know what to do when an emergency happens, specifically a cardiac emergency,” she said.
ENCORE- Forgotten history in the development of defibrillators
Every time he sees an AED, Marvin A. Wayne, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, FAHA, is reminded of its history. That’s because he was part of its history.
“Think of the thousands of people who have been saved by the AED worldwide,” says Wayne, medical program director for Washington’s Whatcom County EMS and assistant clinical professor at the University of Washington. “You can get some discussion of who invented the defibrillator, who developed penicillin, and so many other medical discoveries and developments. But nobody knows who invented and developed the AED.“
Wayne’s part in the story started in Oregon in the early 1970s, when physicians Arch Diack, MD, and W. Stanley Welborn, MD, joined forces with engineer Robert Rullman to brainstorm ways to bring defibrillation to patients in the field.
At that point out-of-hospital defibrillation was in its infancy. Few EMS systems had the capability, and defibrillators weren’t designed for mobile use. Public access defibrillation didn’t exist yet.
“In the early 1970s a very select number of prehospital units were carrying defibrillators,“ says Wayne. “They were big and clunky, but they worked. There was nothing for the public and nothing readily available to grab off the shelf or wall.“
Read on: https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/emsworld/forgotten-history-heart-aid
Empowering Black Americans to Learn Life-Saving Skills
MISSION, KS — February 5, 2024 — (NOTICIAS NEWSWIRE) — In the spirit of Black History Month, you can empower yourself, educate others and elevate your community’s heart health by becoming a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) champion.
According to the American Heart Association, Black Americans have the highest incidence of cardiac arrest outside of the hospital and are significantly less likely to survive. Cardiac arrest in Black neighborhoods is associated with low treatment and survival rates; studies have shown lower rates of both bystander CPR and bystander AED use in these neighborhoods.
In the U.S., health inequities are systematic differences in the health status of different demographics and are often the result of barriers such as racism, poverty, discrimination, lack of affordable housing, quality education and access to health care.
More: https://belatina.com/noticias-newswire/?l=empowering-black-americans
U.S. Mint to issue dollar coin in May featuring Lewiston’s Bernard Lown
The inventor of the direct current defibrillator will be featured as part of the mint’s American Innovations series.
The U.S. Mint plans to issue a special dollar coin May 16 honoring Lewiston High School graduate Bernard Lown, inventor of the direct current defibrillator.
The coin is part of the American Innovation series that aims to highlight “historic ingenuity from every U.S. state and territory.”
Lown, who died in 2021, had a long career of medical and technical innovation as well as peace activism. He accepted a Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 on behalf of a group he helped to create called International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
A pioneering cardiologist, Lown invented the direct current defibrillator in 1962, a device the Lown Institute says has saved countless lives and helped make open-heart surgery possible.
Days after writing story about CPR, reporter used it on her dad
When Beyoncé and Taylor Swift toured Missouri last summer, broadcast reporter Farah Siddiqi used their appearances as an opportunity to teach people about CPR.
She wrote a story explaining how songs like Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” and Swift’s “The Man” can help people maintain the 100-120 beats per minute recommended for performing chest compressions when giving CPR. She also noted that when a bystander performs CPR, the person’s chances of survival can double or triple.
Siddiqi was especially interested because her father, Qamar Masood, survived a heart attack 26 years earlier.
Days after Siddiqi’s story came out, Masood’s heart stopped. Siddiqi happened to be there. And she kept a steady rhythm as she performed CPR on her dad.
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