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.
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.
Walter Elliot
This quote reminds us that perseverance is “staying the course” regardless of setbacks or delays in meeting the expectations and continuing to work despite difficulties, failures, or opposition. What makes the biggest difference is agility and the ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. It’s not just about doing it over and over again; it’s more about doing it with a better approach each time by learning from the past.
University Hospitals challenge puts more AEDs in Northeast Ohio schools
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – More AEDs are being put in Northeast Ohio schools thanks to the Cleveland Browns and partners in the AEDin3 program.
University Hospitals has partnered with the Browns, Browns Cornerback Denzel Ward’s “Make Them Know Your Name” Foundation and Kaulig Companies to bring more AEDunits to schools, officials say.
Schools qualify to receive an AED unit after taking on a challenge to conduct drills attempting to get an AED to the field in under three minutes, hospital officials say.
Schools that can’t beat the AEDin3 time limit are eligible for AEDs and training at no cost.
Video story: https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/01/09/university-hospitals-challenge-puts-more-aeds-northeast-ohio-schools/
A life-saving gift | Anonymous donor gifts Harrison County 5 AEDs for all youth baseball, softball fields
“Thank you. There are no other words besides thank you.”
HARRISON COUNTY, Ind. — An anonymous donor in Harrison County purchased five automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for all the baseball and softball fields in the county.
A selfless act that could save a life.
“I’ve been around this county for a long time, I’m a lifelong citizen of this county, and we have a lot of individuals who keep philanthropy in mind,” Harrison County EMS Director Jeremy McKim said. “That’s one thing about our community that’s very rewarding, is that we have individuals who are willing to make donations like this.”
La Porte County looking into app that locates AEDs in emergencies as part of HEARTSafe effort to improve survival from cardiac arrest
LA PORTE, Ind. – The city of La Porte is making every effort to create a HEARTSafe community.
The Health Foundation of La Porte approached Assistant Director of La Porte County E-911 Matt Deckard about working on a Pulse Point app.
Through PulsePoint, registered AEDs are accessible to emergency call takers and disclosed to those nearby during cardiac arrest events.
“Truly what we’re trying to do is better the outcome for everybody. And if this app and the CPR training LaPorte Fire Department is training and everyone that has come together on, this is what we’re really trying to accomplish,” Deckard said.
This comes after all of La Porte County’s law enforcement vehicles were granted 26 AEDs in November and the Health Foundation granted 27 AEDs to different organizations. Additionally, the county is currently installing AEDs in its own government buildings.
“The agencies are all willing to come to the table and spend time and effort to make sure that we’re attending to the needs of the public,” President and CEO of the Health Foundation of La Porte Maria Fruth said.
Video story: https://www.abc57.com/news/la-porte-county-looking-into-app-that-locates-aeds-in-emergencies
Paramedic’s campaign sees defibrillators installed on homes
A paramedic’s campaign has led to 14 defibrillators being installed on people’s homes in a Worcestershire town.
Kerry Wood began bidding to improve access to the life-saving devices in Evesham while she was a student.
It came after she realized it could take 40 minutes to transport people in cardiac arrest to Worcestershire Royal Hospital A&E.
Since installing an automated external defibrillator (AED) on her own home in October, more and more people have offered their properties.
More than £1,000 has been raised and the new devices have been put up on walls on housing estates across the town.
Ms Wood, now a qualified paramedic, told BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester that it quickly became clear residents “wanted defibs everywhere”.
“These are going to save lives. There are that many of them and we’re not stopping here,” she said.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8728lme1plo
Study reveals cardiac arrest figures in England – with just 1 in 12 people surviving and leaving hospital
A national research database has revealed stark figures for cardiac arrests in England for 2022. Survival rates remain low, with around 8% patients surviving to 30 days after a cardiac arrest.
The ambulance service performed resuscitation in nearly 35,000 patients in England following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Two thirds of cardiac arrests happened in men, and around 80% happened in the patient’s usual residence.
A quarter of patients had their hearts restarted by the time that they reached hospital. Fewer than 1 in 12 patients survived to 30 days. This is a slight decrease from 2021.
Members of the public performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in over 70% of cases but used a public-access defibrillator in fewer than 10% of cases. Both figures represent an increase from 2021.
These findings are published by the Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes (OHCAO) Registry, based at the University of Warwick Clinical Trials Unit – using data submitted by all English regional ambulance services. Its aim is to collect and summarise high-quality data to support UK initiatives to improve outcomes from out of hospital cardiac arrest. The OHCAO registry is funded by Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) and British Heart Foundation (BHF).
More: https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/?newsItem=8a1785d88ce92c6d018cee37670a79af
New AHA Focused Update on Adult Advanced Cardiac Life Support
The American Heart Association (AHA) has released a focused update on adult advanced cardiovascular life support.
Published online on December 18 in Circulation, the update summarized the latest evidence for and recommendations on the use of medications, temperature management, percutaneous coronary angiography, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and seizure management in this population.
One “critically” important update is on temperature control, Writing Group Chair Jon C. Rittenberger, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, noted in an interview with theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology.
Over the years, there’s been kind of a “shift in paradigm,” Rittenberger said, from therapeutic hypothermia to targeted temperature management and finally to temperature control, based on results of the Hypothermia Versus Normothermia After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (TTM2) trial.
The Life-Saving Impact of Quick Action: Nick DiCarlo’s Story and the Importance of CPR
Nick DiCarlo, a college baseball player at Iona University, experienced a life-altering event during a regular practice session. A fastball hit him squarely in the chest, inducing a cardiac arrest. His coach, aware of the situation, immediately started CPR while paramedics used a defibrillator to restore his heart’s normal rhythm. DiCarlo was subsequently placed into a medically induced coma.
Later, he was diagnosed with commotio cordis, a rare type of cardiac arrest caused by a blow to the chest during a precise moment in a heartbeat. This condition, although rare, highlights the potential danger in sports and activities where such impacts can occur.
Survivor Advocacy and Community Action
DiCarlo’s experience provides a stark reminder of the critical importance of CPR knowledge in saving lives. Survivor advocacy, community involvement, and promotion of safety measures can make a significant difference in dealing with such emergencies. Across communities, there is a growing recognition of the need for widespread CPR training and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) placement.
Following his intense cardiac rehabilitation, DiCarlo made a full recovery and returned to the sport he loves. This experience has not only impacted his life but has also inspired others. His family has since started including chest protectors in the equipment provided to youth baseball players through their nonprofit, Youth Sports Alliance, aimed at preventing such incidents.
Cardiac arrest patient thanks Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for saving his life
A cardiac arrest patient got the chance to meet and thank Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crew for saving his life, when he suddenly collapsed while playing basketball.
One by one, Nephtali Pierre is thanking the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crew that saved his life. He said all he knows today is that he woke up at HCA Florida JFK Hospital. How he got to the hospital is still a blur.
“I just woke up here, to be honest with you,” he said.
Thankfully, the crew that helped him is now helping him again. But this time to paint the picture of how he ended up hospitalized. They said on Dec. 29, a call came in about cardiac arrest at the basketball court at Savona Grand Apartments in Boynton Beach.
They said when they got there, a stranger was already doing CPR on Pierre.
Free life-saving training sessions to launch in Malvern
FREE life-saving training will soon be available to Malvern residents thanks to collaboration between a local supermarket and charity.
Morrisons in Malvern Retail Park has teamed up with Heartstart Malvern to allow the charity to provide their life-saving training to supermarket customers and the wider community.
The first of the free 90-minute training sessions will be held on January 25 at 7pm with attendees learning how to do CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and how to use a defibrillator.
The training is practical and no prior first aid knowledge is needed. Heartstart Malvern have also provided the store with a defibrillator, located outside, which can be accessed by any member of the public in an emergency.
Heartstart Malvern’s chairman, Richard Vakis-Lowe said: “With over 80% of cardiac arrests happening at home, the successful resuscitation of this gentleman demonstrates how important it is for everyone to know how to do CPR and to use a defibrillator.
“If a bystander does not start CPR within three minutes of a person collapsing from a cardiac arrest they will not survive.”
More: https://www.malvernobserver.co.uk/news/free-life-saving-training-sessions-to-launch-in-malvern/
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation announces 2023 video contest winners. Watch ALL of them here!
The Citizen CPR Foundation (CCPRF) and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation (SCAF) jointly conducted a video contest as part of the Cardiac Arrest Survival Summit, November 29-December 2 in San Diego. Here are the 2023 winners:
First Place: HeartCharged and Greg Page, “Kids Can Bop and Call Push Shock”
Second Place: Maurice Trosclair, “Sudden Cardiac Arrest Blues”
Third Place: Maurice Trosclair, “Grateful”
Fourth Place: Yorkshire Ambulance Service, “The Importance of Early CPR”
Watch: https://www.sca-aware.org/our-programs/video-contests