Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association Launches Its First Thirteen Local Chapters/...( Local Groups Will Work to Prevent...),Health

Local Groups Will Work to Prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest Through Public Education and Advocacy

SCAA Expects to Have 25 Chapters/Affiliates by This Spring

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) announced today that it has launched its first 13 local chapter and affiliate organizations, as it builds a network of local organizations to help carry out its mission of preventing sudden cardiac arrest.

The local chapters and affiliates will bring together sudden cardiac arrest survivors, patients, medical and emergency professionals and community leaders to carry out public education and advocacy programs and activities. Programs and projects will include broader deployment of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR training, better public/patient awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, and improved screening and access to medical care for individuals who may be at risk.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a leading killer in the U.S., striking more than 350,000 annually, with a survival rate of only about five percent. The death rate for SCA exceeds the combined death rate of breast cancer, lung cancer, stroke and HIV/AIDS. SCA is triggered by an electrical problem with the heart that causes the heart to stop beating, and is often confused with a heart attack. SCA victims can often be revived with quick access to defibrillation to shock the heart back into rhythm. While there are more AEDs in public facilities and more patients implanted with Internal Cardiac Defibrillators (ICDs), broader AED deployment and better patient understanding of the condition is critical to improving the odds of survival.

The first set of local chapters and affiliates include:

-- Austin, Texas

-- Cape Cod and the Islands, Massachusetts

-- Iowa (statewide organization based in Des Moines)

-- Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri)

-- Long Island, New York
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