Editorial

Sudden Cardiac Arrest can affect anyone at anytime. The American Heart Association published in “The Case for Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Programs” in 1999, that about 250,000 people die each year from SCA. That is approximately 700 casualties a day, or the equivalent of three 747s crashing each day. This high a number of casualties exist despite the finest emergency departments, physicians, and nurses. More than 25 people die every hour from SCA, despite the finest prehospital care systems and personnel, from fire department first responders to paramedics, according to The National Center for Early Defibrillation. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control suggests that the incidence of SCA may in fact be twice as high, affecting as many as 450,000 individuals each year.
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest. VF is a condition in which the heart’s electrical impulses go haywire, often without warning, and cau...