CPR and AEDs Saving Lives
Sudden Cardiac Arrest:
Prepare for the Unexpected

The Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center is offering hands-on CPR and AED instruction Saturday, Sept. 27, at The Methodist Training Center. For more information or to register, call 866-618-3345 or go to www.methodisthealth.com/savealife.

Acting quickly is important when someone has a heart attack. And speedy action may be even more crucial with sudden cardiac arrest. But what's the difference? In a heart attack, blood flow to the heart is blocked. Getting to the hospital immediately is important so that doctors can restore blood flow before the heart muscle is damaged from lack of oxygen. Treatment is most effective when started within an hour of the first symptoms.*

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is when the heart stops beating suddenly because of a problem with the heart's electrical system. While a heart attack typically has symptoms, such as chest pain in men and unusual fatigue in women, the first sign of SCA is usually collapse or loss of consciousness.

The Cardiac Chain
of Survival
Health officials expect more than 250,000 people to have SCA this year.** If you're there when one of them does, you can help by recognizing the situation quickly and being the first link in what the American Red Cross calls the "Cardiac Chain of Survival."

The first step in the Cardiac Chain of Survival if someone you are with collapses or becomes unconscious is to call 911. Emergency workers will arrive in minutes.

The next step toward helping someone with SCA is a combination of performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an automated external defibrillator (AED). An AED is a medical device that can analyze a heart's rhythm and deliver an electric shock to return the rhythm to normal. The Red Cross recommends that one person in every household be trained in CPR lifesaving skills, and all Americans be within four minutes of an AED and someone trained to use it in the event
of SCA.

Saving Lives with AEDs
The Red Cross estimates that up to 50,000 SCA deaths could be prevented each year if someone – maybe you! – initiates the Cardiac Chain of Survival and an AED is available for immediate use. SCA victims who receive immediate CPR and AED shock within five minutes have survival rates as high as 48% to 74%.** Without immediate treatment, more than nine out of 10 people do not survive SCA.*

AEDs were once only available in hospitals and busy public places such as airports and stadiums. Now, AEDs are becoming more common in schools, workplaces and shopping malls. They're small, portable and easy to use with audio prompts that guide you each step of the way.

Be Prepared
Have you ever wondered what you would do if someone needed your help in a medical emergency? Join Methodist for an upcoming training class in CPR and the use of AEDs. For more information, visit www.methodisthealth.com/savealife.