SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An estimated 1,000 people – including more than 50 cardiac arrest survivors – will march through the streets of downtown San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 10, from 11:25 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. The “Citizen CPR Foundation’s CPR Saves Lives March” will begin at the Manchester Grand Hyatt and conclude at the San Diego Civic Center where participants will hear inspirational stories from survivors and a public call for more community-based action so that others can live.
“Without strong community cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) programs and easily accessed automated external defibrillators (AEDs), many unnecessary deaths occur,” said Tom P. Aufderheide, M.D., president of Citizen CPR Foundation (CCPRF) and faculty member of the Medical College of Wisconsin. “The 50 survivors who will march were fortunate because they received early CPR and AED use from bystanders. However, most cardiac arrest victims do not receive help in time. Whether you live or die is highly dependent on the preparation of your community, the knowledge and training of the public, and the time it takes (literally seconds to minutes) to receive CPR and AED use.
“The good news is that communities can greatly improve survival rates by implementing the latest science, educational tactics and local system implementation strategies. Our host city, San Diego, is a shining example of how communities can come together to improve survival rates.”
According to an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, there are 1,600 preventable deaths from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) every day in the U.S. SCA occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating and there is no blood flow to the brain or other vital organs. Every year, approximately 300,000 men, women and children in the United States die from SCA. Almost 80 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home and many are witnessed by a family member. Generally, less than eight percent of victims survive.
“The intent of the first-ever ‘CPR Saves Lives March’ is to shed light on the hundreds of thousands of SCA victims who could survive each year if communities provided more CPR training, better care and a greater number of AEDs,” Dr. Aufderheide said. “Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after SCA, can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.”
New programs and technology can also get help to SCA victims more quickly. Telephone CPR (T-CPR) enables dispatchers to teach CPR over the phone and keep it going until first responders arrive. Mobile applications like PulsePoint can significantly strengthen the chain of survival by improving bystander response to cardiac arrest victims.
“Eighty percent of sudden cardiac deaths happen to someone you know and love in or near your home. By learning to recognize SCA, calling 9-1-1 and starting CPR, citizens can save those who would otherwise die without immediate help,” said Vinay M. Nadkarni, M.D., president-elect of CCPRF and Endowed Chair of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “Care that starts with citizen CPR and early defibrillation, a well-trained EMS system and strong links in the chain of survival are vital in every community.”
The “CPR Saves Lives March” is part of the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Update (ECCU) 2015 conference (#ECCU2015), which is sponsored by CCPRF along with other prominent co-sponsors. The conference runs from December 7-11 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego.
Attention editors, reporters and producers: SCA survivors and the citizens who saved them are available for interviews at the march, along with family members who lost loved ones to sudden death. Also, CCPRF board members and third-party experts are available for comment.
About Emergency Cardiovascular Care Update (ECCU) 2015
