Why do schools need AEDs?
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) — or massive heart attack — as it is sometimes known, which kills 450,000 people in the U.S. alone each year, can strike anyone: your students, staff, faculty or visitors. Even a seemingly healthy person can suffer cardiac arrest without warning. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), as many as 50% of SCA victims have no prior indication of heart disease — their first symptom is cardiac arrest. The only definitive treatment for SCA caused by an abnormal heart rhythm is a defibrillation shock — an electrical pulse through the heart — which restores a normal heart rhythm. The chance of an SCA victim’s survival decreases by 10 percent with every minute that passes, so in order to be effective, defibrillation treatment must be administered within the first few minutes of SCA.
