Of the deaths that occur each year from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) — estimates range from 250,000 to 335,000 deaths annually — over 95 percent of the victims never make it to the hospital. The American Red Cross says that SCA claims a new victim each minute of the day.
SCA occurs when the flow of blood to the heart slows or is stopped, often caused by abnormal heart rhythms called ventricular fibrillation (VF). The only recognized treatment for SCA is early defibrillation to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm. Without access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and trained care, SCA can lead to the victim’s death shortly after symptoms appear.