American Heart Association applauds final passage of community AED legislation; urges President to sign measure into law

American Heart Association
Friday, 24 May 2002

Emergency devices bill, passed as part of the bioterrorism measure, authorizes $30 million in first year for communities to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and to train 'first responders'

The American Heart Association today congratulated both houses of Congress for incorporating the Community Access to Emergency Devices Act (Community AED Act) into the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act, and urged President Bush to move quickly to sign the bill into law.

The provisions authorize $30 million in federal grants in year one of the five-year measure. The grants, to be made available to applying states and localities, would be used for the purchase and placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places where cardiac arrests are likely to occur. Grant funds would also be used to train first responders to administer immediate life-saving care, including AED use and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The bill also encourages private companies to purchase AEDs and to train employees in CPR and emergency defibrillation.

"Once fully implemented, this legislation will significantly improve the national cardiac arrest survival rate, which currently stands at a dismal five percent," said American Heart Association President David Faxon, M.D. "We urge the President to move quickly to sign this measure into law."

Faxon noted that approximately 250,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest—a condition where the heart suddenly stops beating effectively and is unable to pump blood throughout the body. "In a sudden cardiac arrest situation, minutes, even seconds, can mean the difference between life and death," Faxon said.

"For every minute the heartbeat is not restored to normal, the chances of survival drop by approximately 10 percent. Usually, if a normal heart rhythm is not restored by 10 minutes at the latest, the result is death," Faxon explained.

He continued, "This legislation will make AEDs more readily available in public places where the sheer volume of people traffic make sudden cardiac arrests a real threat, especially considering our aging population demographic. "By making these devices more available in public places, and by ensuring that there is a trained cadre of responders who know who to use them, we can significantly reduce sudden cardiac arrest deaths," Faxon concluded.

For more information, or to contact American Heart Association, see their website at: www.americanheart.org