Local non-profit, Arrhythmia Alliance has donated in excess of 70 life saving devices known as Automated External Defibrillators to their Bluffton Defibs Save Lives campaign over the last few years. Today they learnt that one device situated at the mouth of the Linear Trail has been destroyed due to apparent careless gunshot damage.
Francesca Lobban, Executive Manager at Arrhythmia Alliance said today:
“Our fundraisers and donors worked so hard to help us make Bluffton Heart Safe with the placement of AEDs which is the only thing that will save a life from sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest can occur at any time to anyone at any age. This is not a heart attack; this is sudden unexpected death due to the electrics of the heart (heart rhythm) beating in a chaotic manner. The only thing that will save the person is the use of an AED + CPR. CPR alone will only provide 9% chance of survival; with the use of an AED their survival increases to over 50%. Every minute that passes without the use of an AED to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm reduces the chance of survival by 10%.”
AEDs should be no further than three minutes from you. A-A has placed over 70 AEDs in the Bluffton area, working with the police and fire department to ensure they were placed in communities and public places accessible to all.
Lobban is calling for donations so that despite mindless destruction of the AED, Arrhythmia Alliance can once again donate an AED to ensure the citizens of Bluffton are HeartSafe.
Lobban said ‘Every day across the US, 1,000 lives are lost to SCA, and yet 80% of these could be prevented with the use of an AED at time of collapse. Our donated AEDs in Bluffton have already saved at least four lives that would otherwise have been lost due to sudden cardiac arrest. We are seeking donations so that we can replace the damaged AED as quickly as possible. ‘
In the United States, approximately 360,000 people every year experience out-of-hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and nine out of ten people will die as a result. CPR alone only provides a 9% chance of survival however with CPR and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) chances of survival increase more than five-fold to over 50%.
‘We cannot allow mindless destruction of life saving equipment be the reason that an innocent person loses their life because an AED is not available. We desperately hope we can raise enough funds to replace this AED within days,” said Lobban
Every dollar donated will go directly to the A-A Defibs Save Lives campaign to ensure Bluffton remains HeartSafe.
We are calling for donations so we can replace it ideally within days - please call 843-415-1886 to donate to our Facebook Fundraiser click HERE or to see other ways to donate click HERE.
Every day across the US 1000 lives are lost to SCA and yet 80% of these could be avoided with the use of an AED at time of collapse.
Approximately 360,000 Americans will suffer an out-of-hospital SCA each year, this means that the unfortunate event takes place away from a hospital and usually at home or in a public place.
With CPR alone the chance of survival of SCA stands at only 9%, however with CPR and the use of an AED combined this chance increases to over 50%.