What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a life-threatening emergency that occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. It strikes people of all ages who may seem to be healthy, even children and teens.
When SCA happens, the person collapses and doesn’t respond or breathe normally. They may gasp or shake as if having a seizure.
SCA leads to death in minutes if the person does not get help right away. Survival depends on people nearby calling 911, starting CPR¹, and using an AED² (if available) as soon as possible.
It’s Not Rare
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the U.S., taking the lives of 356,000 people annually. But what most parents don’t know is that SCA is the #1 killer of student athletes3 and the leading cause of death on school campuses4. One in 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk5. In fact, an estimated 7,0006 to 23,0007 youth are stricken annually.
So why are we often led to believe that SCA in youth is “too rare” to worry about?
The precise incidence of SCA in youth is presently unknown due to the lack of a mandatory and systematic national registry of SCA/SCD in youth. Parent Heart Watch strongly advocates for the establishment of such a registry to provide more accurate data that will motivate new research and strategies that will lead to SCA and SCD prevention.
The first symptom of SCA is often death, either because the warning signs of an underlying heart condition were not recognized or help was not administered within minutes of the event. In fact, more than 90%8 of SCA victims die because there was a delay in emergency response.
The normal rhythm of the heart can only be restored with defibrillation, an electrical shock that is safely delivered to the chest by an automated external defibrillator (AED). Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can be a bridge to live until an AED can be administered.
Of the leading causes of youth death (accidents, suicide, homicide, cancer and heart conditions), sudden cardiac arrest is the only one that can be prevented through primary and secondary prevention strategies.
The question is, if we can prevent the
tragedy of losing a child, why aren’t we?