Oct. 21, 2008

CONTACT:
Communications Department
(320) 251-2700, ext. 74980

Take Heart celebrates twice the survival rates for Sudden Cardiac Arrest patients

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Now in its third year, data from Take Heart St. Cloud and Take Heart Anoka County confirm that implementation of the four Take Heart strategies does increase survivability from out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) from 9 percent to 17 percent. SCA is the number one killer of women and men. Less than 5 percent of SCA victims leave the hospital alive and can occur in people of all ages.

Take Heart St. Cloud is part of the national demonstration project, Take Heart America, which includes the cities of Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; and Anoka County. The project has simultaneously implemented four strategies to improve out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest survival rates. Strategies include:

Teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation/automated external defibrillator (CPR/AED) education and training to all high school freshmen and to the community at-large in a wide-spread education effort to increase CPR/AED skills;

Deployment of AEDs in strategically positioned locations to maximize bystander access;

Comprehensive professional rescuer training (emergency medical practitioners and emergency/trauma room personnel) with newly recommended CPR techniques and devices that double circulation during CPR (ResQPOD, LUCAS Device);

Implementation of specific treatments for post-resuscitation care after successful resuscitation, including systemic hypothermia (Artic Sun Cooling Device) for unconscious survivors, and aggressive evaluation and treatment with interventional cardiology techniques and ICDs.

Cardiac electrophysiologist Keith Lurie, M.D., Central Minnesota Heart Center and co-founder of Take Heart America, wrote an abstract about the increased survival rates, which will be presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Resuscitation Science Symposium in November and will be published in the medical journal.

In recognition of the importance of SCA, Coborn’s has placed AEDs in all 37 of their stores. Eight of the AEDs were donated by Take Heart St. Cloud.

St. Cloud State University now trains CPR to all its new students using the updated guidelines from the AHA through the mandatory class PESS 122. All freshmen in the St. Cloud area high schools also are being trained with the AHA CPR Anytime Family & Friends Kit to give CPR and use AEDs.
National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month is being celebrated for the first time this October. The U.S. Senate passed its “National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month” resolution by unanimous consent on Sept. 21. The House passed its concurrent resolution by voice vote on Sept. 25.

# # #