Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association Launches Two Minnesota ...( Minnesota Groups Will Work to Pre...),Health

Minnesota Groups Will Work to Prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Through Public Education and Advocacy

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) announced today that it has launched Minneapolis-St. Paul-Rochester and Northwestern Minnesota affiliates as it builds a network of local organizations to help carry out its mission of preventing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

The Minnesota SCAA affiliate is led by Gene Johnson of New Brighton, Minnesota, who is a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest and is chairman of the Midwest Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors Network (MSCASN). The organization has been working in the Twin Cities and Rochester area to broaden deployment of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), provide support for SCA survivors, conduct CPR training, and educate the public about sudden cardiac arrest.

The Western Minnesota SCAA chapter is led by Randy Fischer of Fergus Falls, Minnesota who is a paramedic and ambulance service director. Fischer and other volunteers have already placed more than 80 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and have been involved in CPR training and SCA awareness programs for 28 years in Northwestern Minnesota.

Sudden cardiac arrest 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 CPR and 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 s
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