November 2002
Volume XXVIII, Number 5

	Inside This Issue Defibrillator on Duty Saving Lives in Pittsburgh AEDs: No Experience Required Sudden Cardiac Arrest--Not A Heart Attack New Laws Protect AED Users Motorcycles Equipped With AEDs Overweight Americans Face Serious Health Risks Help For Heart Failure Nuts: Tasty and Heart Healthy Winning Health Recipe of the Month

The city of Pittsburgh joins the list of major cities in which community AED programs are in place. Motivated by the knowledge that technology exists to save many more lives, a coalition of local healthcare, government, and community agencies is developing strategies to improve access to AEDs in Pittsburgh and its 88 surrounding communities. The goal of the three-to-four-year initiative is to increase survival rates of sudden cardiac-arrest victims to 20 to 50 percent from the current 7 percent.

Important elements of the campaign include programs to educate citizens, a Web site for dissemination of CPR/AED instruction, and a comprehensive system for tracking defibrillators and research data to be shared by 911 operators and emergency medical personnel. A sufficient number of AEDs will be placed so that the average time from collapse to first shock does not exceed three to five minutes.

The National Center for Early Defibrillation reports that Pittsburgh residents experience 350 to 400 sudden cardiac arrests each year. Recent statistics show that fewer than 30 of those victims survive.