Startling Statistics
The number of people who die each year from SCA is roughly equivalent to the number who die from Alzheimer’s disease, assault with firearms, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, HIV, house fires, motor vehicle accidents, prostate cancer and suicides combined.
Life at Risk
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a leading cause of death in the US, accounting for an estimated 325,000 deaths each year.
- 50% of victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest have no prior symptoms, and many have no previous history of heart disease.
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes.
- Every Second Counts - For each minute that passes without Defibrillation and CPR, the chance of survival from Sudden Cardiac Arrest decreases by 7-10%. The average EMS response time nationwide is over 8 minutes.
- In Sudden Cardiac Arrest Brain death occurs within 4-6 minutes of the victim’s collapse.
- If the necessary life-saving equipment and first aid do not arrive in time, typical survival rates are only 2%-5%.
Liability & Cost
- State and federal Good Samaritan laws protect individuals who use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in good faith from legal liability risk.
- There are no reported lawsuits involving the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). All lawsuits revolve around the failure to have or use an AED
- Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) cannot be made to shock anyone who does not need to be shocked.
- Few medical interventions are as inexpensive to implement and successful at saving lives as early defibrillation
- With increasing AED implementation and legislation nationwide, organizational liability for not implementing an AED program is growing each year.
Hope For The Future
- The only effective cure for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is immediate treatment with a defibrillator.
- If a cardiac arrest victim is shocked with a defibrillator within the first minute of collapse, the chances for survival are close to 90%.
- Learning to use an AED is simple and intuitive. Formal training takes about 2 – 4 hours (including CPR), but many untrained laypersons have been able to use AEDs successfully in actual emergencies.
- More than half of all American adults have participated in CPR training classes and most say they would use their skills in an emergency, even if they did not know the victim.
- 60% of all Sudden Cardiac Arrests are witnessed, and 50% of victims have no prior symptoms. Being trained and prepared with an AED can mean the difference between the life and death of a friend, co-worker, or loved one.
- On average, only 7% of sudden cardiac arrest victims in the United States survive. In some settings, survival rates of 50% have been achieved. If even 20% could survive, 50,000 lives could be saved each year.
Enlightening Facts
- Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is not the same as a heart attack. Heart attack victims usually experience chest pain and are conscious.
- SCA victims usually collapse suddenly, without warning, and become unconscious. SCA can lead to death if it is not treated immediately.
- Victims of sudden cardiac arrest who collapse in public places are more likely than those who collapse at home to receive CPR and defibrillation.
- The rationale for widespread placement of automated external defibrillators(AEDs) is this: electrical therapy must be delivered immediately to victims of sudden cardiac arrest(ideally less than five minutes after collapse) for it to be effective. Even the best emergency medical services (EMS) systems can often not get to the scene this quickly.
