Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has to be one of the most devastating cardiac events that a person can suffer. Unlike a heart attack, which provides victims with some advanced warning - shortness of breath, nausea, and chest pain, for example - SCA provides no advanced warning to its victims. Because SCA is caused by an electrical malfunction of the heart and not a blockage, victims have no symptoms until the moment the heart actually stops beating. More than 300,000 persons in the United States die each year as a result of SCD. To put this in perspective, that's more than deaths from AIDS, breast cancer and lung cancer combined.
Because SCA provides no advanced warning, it’s critical that victims receive immediate medical intervention such as defibrillation. The survival rate from SCA is very poor and the chances diminish ten percent for each minute that passes. Estimates are that the survival rate for SCA is approximately eight percent. In a one of a kind program, The HeartRescue Project is trying to change this statistic and give victims of SCA a fighting chance to live.
Funded by the Medtronic Foundation, the goal of The HeartRescue Project is to improve SCA survival rates by 50 percent over the next five years in five pilot states: Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington. The HeartRescue Project brings together selected HeartRescue Partners known for innovation in treatment, research, and expertise relating to SCA in an effort to collaborate, share knowledge, information, best practices and create SCA treatment programs which are reproducible and measurable. The HeartRescue Partners include:
*Arizona – University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center and Arizona Department of Health Services
*Minnesota: University of Minnesota, Cardiovascular Division, Allina Transportation, Regions Hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Health East, North Memorial Hospital, Gold Cross Ambulance, Minnesota Ambulance Association, Minnesota Hospital Association, and Minnesota Department of Health.
*North Carolina - Duke University, Wake County EMS, North Carolina Office of EMS, and University of North Carolina
*Pennsylvania – University of Pennsylvania Department of Emergency Medicine Center for Resuscitation Science
*Washington: University of Washington – Harborview Center for Prehospital Emergency Care, Harborview Paramedic Training Program, The Medic One Program of Seattle Fire Department, and King County Emergency Medical Services
In addition, Dr. Michael Sayre and Lynn White from Ohio State University will serve as the Medical Director and Education Director respectively of the HeartRescue Project. They will coordinate activities and communications between the HeartRescue Partners and the Medtronic Foundation.
According to the website, the project is working to “promote a new paradigm of SCA care” with an emphasis on programs which are replicable and reach all who might be called upon to assist a victim of SCA, including:
• Bystanders or the general public
• First responders such as police or fire
• EMS
• Hospital staff
The HeartRescue Project website contains a numerous SCA resources for individuals, communities, and medical professionals including Every Second Counts. Every Action Matters., a Community Response Planning Guide for Sudden Cardiac Arrest, as well as links to training and other resource materials, SCA survivor organizations, and recommended readings.
The HeartRescue Project initiative is a bold venture. The survival rates for SCA have remained virtually unchanged for over 30 years. If successful, The HeartRescue Project will accomplish what no other organization or response protocol has been able to do – make a significant difference in saving lives that would otherwise be lost to SCA.
For more information on The Heart Rescue Project, visit the website at: www.heartrescueproject.com Note: This will redirect to http://www.medtronic.com/heartrescueproject/index.html
More information about the Medtronic Foundation may be obtained from their website at: http://www.medtronic.com/foundation/
Mary Kyle is a freelance writer, editor, and author of two books. She has Master’s degree in Legal Studies and is a certified Project Management Professional. Mary makes her home in historic Lockhart, Texas, and is active in regional music and plays and sings in several bands.