Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Featuring interviews with survivors of sudden cardiac arrest (from teens to senior citizens) and rescue workers (including firefighters, emergency workers, and flight attendants), this program stresses the importance of response time in saving lives, and illustrates how electricity is used to get the heart back to normal after a sudden change in rhythm or complete halt. Not quite the same as a heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest (or SCA) has a number of causes, although 80% of cases are related to blocked arteries to the heart, and half of those affected will never display symptoms prior to experiencing it. Reportedly, 900 people die of SCA each year—the equivalent of three airplane loads of people—and those struck can perish within one hour of the onset of the initial symptoms. Most of us have seen movies where a doctor dramatically rubs two electrically charged paddles together and yells “clear!” before applying electric shock to a victim, but similar technology—the relatively low-cost Automated External Defibrillator, or AED—is becoming increasingly available to emergency workers, and found in airports, on airplanes, and other locations. The AED takes much of the guesswork out of SCA treatment, verbally guiding rescue workers (or even bystanders) through the process. A timely and potentially lifesaving consumer health title, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Block)