The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association work together to save lives by improving response to cardiovascular emergencies

American Heart Association
Monday, 4 March 2002

Innovative national programs make impact on no. 1 and 3 leading causes of death among Americans

Time makes all the difference between life and death for victims of sudden cardiac arrest and stroke. That's why responding immediately in medical emergencies is crucial in saving a person's life. To help educate the public on how to react quickly in cardiovascular emergencies, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association are implementing Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke, grassroots initiatives created to mobilize communities to improve sudden cardiac arrest and stroke awareness and rapid access to treatment across the country.

Sudden cardiac arrest, which claims the lives of more than 250,000 adults in the United States, usually strikes without warning and requires immediate treatment from bystanders, otherwise the victim dies within 10 to 14 minutes. On the other hand, stroke patients must be assessed within three hours for possible treatment with a clot-busting drug that can significantly reduce the debilitating effects of stroke. As a leading cause of severe, long-term disability, stroke occurs in about 600,000 Americans each year.

The two programs focus on strengthening the chain of survival - a step-by-step process for healthcare professionals - across the country, which according to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association is proven to reduce death and disability. The reality is that no link of the chain of survival is as strong as it could be. That's why Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke help communities evaluate each link and support those that need attention.

Operation Heartbeat is now being implemented in about 190 communities and Operation Stroke can be found in 113 areas across the country. This national effort, which was first conceived in 1997, is designed to educate people, regardless of age, about cardiac arrest and stroke warning signs, strengthen 9-1-1 centers, and increase the number of healthcare emergency staff and hospitals equipped and staffed to deal with these health emergencies.

"Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke are our top priorities at the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association because they can immediately help us save lives," said David Faxon, M.D., president of the American Heart Association. "We are mobilizing our efforts in communities across the country to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and stroke, and the standard of care for cardiovascular emergencies. Although we are proud of the progress we've been made over the last few years, there is much more to be done."

Implemented by a coalition of local emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, healthcare professionals, city, county and state governments, and others, Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke have jointly reached close to 250 million people, and helped to elevate the standard of care for sudden cardiac arrest and stroke.

Operation Heartbeat communities concentrate on improving the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims by increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and expanding the availability of community-based CPR training courses, including mass CPR training events. CPR circulates oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, buying additional time for a victim until defibrillation (using an electric shock to the heart) can occur. The American Heart Association develops a variety of CPR training courses, some of which can be completed in only a few hours. Over the past year, more than six million people have been trained in American Heart Association life support courses including CPR instruction.

Someone is suffering cardiac arrest if they collapse suddenly, lose responsiveness (to gentle shaking), and show no signs of circulation (normal breathing, coughing or movement). The majority of sudden cardiac arrests are caused by an abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation-a chaotic quivering of the heart that stops the heart from effectively pumping blood through the body. Half the time sudden cardiac arrest is caused by a heart attack; the other half results from near-drowning, trauma, electrocution or from unknown causes.

Operation Heartbeat communities focus on how the chain of survival can be activated immediately after sudden cardiac arrest occurs. The cardiac arrest chain of survival includes four steps: 1) early access to care (recognizing sudden cardiac arrest and calling 9-1-1 immediately); 2) early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR performed immediately by bystanders); 3) early defibrillation (using an electric shock to stop the heart's abnormal rhythm); and 4) early advanced care (pre-hospital administration of drugs and other advanced treatments by trained healthcare providers).

"Unfortunately, most cardiac arrest victims do not receive the care they need in time, so about 95 percent die," adds Faxon. "Improving early recognition and reducing the time to treatment are our best defenses in the war against sudden cardiac arrest and stroke and can help save lives."

For more information about Operation Heartbeat, visit the American Heart Association's Web site at AmericanHeart.org or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721).

Operation Stroke is also working to improve the stroke chain of survival, which includes these steps: 1) Rapid recognition and reaction to stroke warning signs; 2) recognize the warning signs and note the time when they first occur (call 9-1-1 immediately); 3) rapid start of prehospital care (receive early assessments and pre-hospital care by emergency medical personnel); 4) rapid emergency medical services (EMS) system transport and hospital pre-notification (get to an appropriate hospital quickly via EMS - ambulance personnel will notify the emergency room); and 5) rapid diagnosis and treatment at the hospital (receive prompt evaluation of medical data and treatment to restore blood flow to the brain or other treatments as appropriate by a properly staffed and equipped hospital).

The symptoms of stroke are: 1) sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm and leg, especially on one side of the body; 2) sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; 3) sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; 4) sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and 5) sudden severe headache with no known cause. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel bringing oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or is clogged by a blood clot or other particle. This rupture or blockage keeps part of the brain from getting the oxygen it needs. Without oxygen, nerve cells in the affected area cannot function and die within minutes. The part of the body that these brain cells control also cannot function, which can lead to death.

For more information about Operation Stroke, visit the American Stroke Association's Web site at StrokeAssociation.org or call 1-888-4-STROKE.

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