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My father
is pictured to the right with his grandchildren. They will never get to
play with him again. The brutal top killer, Sudden Cardiac Arrest
(SCA), took him and my grandfather forever. This under reported,
misunderstood heart condition kills now estimated at 340,000 Americans or one adult
every one minute. Many are young and fit. During my six day
vigil at my fathers bedside at the Intensive Care Unit, two 35 year
old males also entered the ICU with the same condition as my father,
never to live again. These poor souls were followed by their family
members, all in total grief stricken disbelief! |
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| Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) often confused with a
heart attack, is a sudden unexpected stoppage of the hearts ability
to effectively circulate blood, starving the brain of oxygen.
Seconds after the stoppage the victim passes out, and as quickly as 5
minutes later suffers irreversible brain damage. After ten
minutes the victims chance of survival drops to less than 5 percent.
This condition can happen at any age or physical condition.
Unlike a heart attack, SCA does not give any warning signs and by
name is sudden. The good news is, there is one effective
treatment for SCA. A defibrillator administering an electric
shock to the heart muscle-restoring an effective beat. CPR does not restart the heart. Restarting a
heart has historically been done by emergency response personnel.
The problem is response time, which is vital
in treating this killer! |
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My father and grandfather's hearts were
restarted by emergency 911 responders 20 to 45 minutes after their
cardiac arrests, using defibrillators. Typical with SCA their
hearts restarted, but their brains where damaged beyond repair due
to lack of oxygen. They never recovered from the ensuing coma.
My father's coma lasted six days before he passed away. Like
with my father and grandfather, most 911 response times are in excess of what is
adequate to effectively treat Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The best
and most effective treatment is an electronic
shock promptly delivered by an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
This shock should be administered within 5 minutes after the
SCA event. In order to get aid that quickly, it usually must
be done by people who witness the event or are very close by.
These first responders must also have an
AED within reach and be willing to use it. |
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| You have seen the small red boxes with red heart
symbols on the walls of public places. These life saving
devices called Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) are showing
up in most large public buildings and on aircraft. But what if
you are not in a large public place. Most SCA events happen at home,
as was my father's. In October 2004 the AED was awarded
over-the-counter availability. Now any one can have
their own life saving AED without a prescription, at an affordable
price. You should consider an AED,
particularly if people in your home are high risk. You never
know when this sudden, insidious killer will strike your family. |
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There is no time like now to act, and get
your own life saving Automatic External
Defibrillator. You or one of your loved ones could live
another day, because of it. I wish I had a second chance to
save my Fathers life!!
(Note: adds will be run on this site to help
defray costs, Thank you for your understanding.) |
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Check
out this typical AED life saving real life story!
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