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The Neighborhood Heart Watch initiative was honored by the American Heart Association for promoting greater awareness of the need for immediate access to defibrillators by placing the lifesaving units in communities throughout the country.

In presenting the American Heart Association's Heartsaver Award to Dr. Douglas Zipes, founder of the Neighborhood Heart Watch, AHA leaders and the chief of the Indianapolis Fire Department lauded Dr. Zipes for strengthening the "chain of survival."

The organization applauded NHW's efforts to bring AEDs closer to where most sudden cardiac arrests occur--in the home. NHW, proposed by Dr. Zipes of the Indiana University School of Medicine, promotes placement of an AED in every neighborhood in the country, as well as training of community volunteers in CPR and AED use. Study after study continues to support the fact that defibrillation saves lives when immediate access to a nearby AED decreases the response time.

"We're hoping to make Indianapolis a model city to show that this can work," says Dr. Zipes. "Then, hopefully, it will spread through the U.S."

The annual American Heartsaver Day event also recognized courageous Indiana citizens who helped save a life by performing CPR and using an AED. Among those praised for their willingness to take action in a life-or-death situation was a Fort Wayne, Indiana, man who used an AED on an airplane to save the life of a stranger. AHA also recognized an Indianapolis woman who saved her daughter's best friend after the teenager collapsed during a high-school basketball game. Indianapolis activists and parents Dan and Ruth Rench, who purchased an AED for Cathedral High School after the tragic heart-related deaths of a student and a teacher, were commended for their efforts to strengthen the chain of survival. The Indiana heroes are among the many volunteers across the country who are stepping forward to join the national effort to save the lives of near-death victims of sudden cardiac arrest.

NHW and the American Heart Association challenge all citizens to become Heartsavers by joining NHW and learning how to use an AED and to perform CPR until emergency help arrives.