News Release
First AED donated as part of year-long campaign to save lives
Effort aimed at preventing and managing sudden cardiac arrest
October 7, 2008
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 335,000 people in the United States and more than 5,768 Iowans. In response to these startling statistics, Congress passed a resolution declaring October as Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Awareness Month.
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).
In July 2008, Mercy Heart Hospital, Iowa Heart Foundation and WHO-TV 13 launched a year-long campaign to increase SCA awareness and improve access to life-saving therapy. As part of the initiative, Mercy provided free SCA screenings for the community and pledged to donate one automatic external defibrillator (AED) per month through September 2009 to Des Moines-area organizations who can demonstrate their need for the device and agree to complete training in how to use them. In addition to implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), an AED is another device that is critical to survival when attempting to stop a lethal heart rhythm.
Of the AEDs to be donated, the first device was presented to Highland Park Christian Church. The church was selected from among more than 80 applications submitted by area organizations—including schools, small businesses and youth groups. Throughout the coming year, the remaining devices will be given to groups that apply for the units and demonstrate a need for them in the applications that they submit to Mercy.
“Our church hosts hundreds of people each week through Head Start classes, weddings and other community events,” said Dr. John Holcombe, pastor at Highland Park Christian Church. “We have experienced three incidents at the church where this device would have been invaluable and have been looking at purchasing an AED for a number of years. This is an answer to our prayers.”
Ongoing SCA education and screenings are planned for 2009 and will be announced in the months ahead. Organizations interested in applying to receive an AED may visit www.mercydesmoines.org/heart/sca.cfm or call (515) 643-8384. Applications that have already been received will be considered for the remaining devices.
"Public understanding about sudden cardiac arrest and what can be done to prevent it is very low,” said Dr. William Wickemeyer, cardiologist with the Iowa Heart Center and medical director of Heart Failure Services. “This campaign is a catalyst to change that allowing us to improve the public’s ability to identify SCA warning signs and seek medical attention in a timely manner,” he said. “Learning to use an AED is simple, intuitive and save lives.”
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Contact Gregg Lagan
Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines
515-247-3050
cell 515-490-6636
Megan Jorgensen
Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines
515-247-3050
