Sudden Cardiac Arrest - Mercy Heart Hospital - Mercy Medical Center

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Sudden cardiac arrest: the facts may shock you

sca

Each year, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)—an abrupt loss of heart function caused by a rapid disturbance in the heart’s natural rhythm—claims the lives of more than 5,768 Iowans, or approximately 16 lives per day.

SCA can happen to anyone, but some people are at greater risk—including heart attack survivors, people who have heart failure, those who have survived a past episode of SCA or have a family history of SCA and people with a low ejection fraction (a measurement of the heart’s pumping ability).

As part of a yearlong campaign to increase awareness and improve access to live-saving therapy, Mercy Heart Hospital, Iowa Heart Center and WHO-TV 13 plan to educate central Iowans about SCA and how it can be prevented through education, free screenings and the donation of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to qualifying local-area businesses and organizations.

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QUICK INFO

The Heart Rhythm Center at Mercy Medical Center—Des Moines offers a full range of services appropriate to patients with arrhythmias including:

palpitations
ablations (atrial and ventricular)
left ventricles dysfunction (ICD)
bi-ventricular pacer
bi-ventricular ICD

For more information, please call (515) 643-8793 or e-mail mercyheart@mercydesmoines.org.

AED Access for All

QUICK LINKS

AED donation program Mercy Heart Hospital, WHO-TV 13 and Iowa Heart Center will donate automatic external defibrillators (AED) to local area businesses and organizations who can demonstrate their need for the devices and agree to complete training in how to use them. AED donation form (PDF)*

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Risk Assessment
Are you at risk for Sudden Cardiac Arrest? Click here to determine your risk