http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Tucker/Where%20We%20Live%2012-09-2011.mp3
Each year more than 350,000 Americans die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest – that’s more than the total death rate for breast cancer, lung cancer, HIV/AIDS, motor vehicle accidents, and violent traumatic events combined.
Health officials say widespread public access to Automated External Defibrillators or AEDs...small easy-to-use devices, could drastically reduce the death rate.
So why aren’t they more accessible?
Today we’ll talk to a Cardiac Specialist and the director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at The George Washington University Hospital, who has spent much of the past year drafting the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, which was just introduced to Congress last week by Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX). If passed, the bill would provide a uniform baseline of Good Samaritan protection on a federal level.
And we’ll hear from a Hamden resident who survived Sudden Cardiac Arrest, thanks to the efforts of strangers who did more than just dial 911.
Today's program was produced with assistance from Amy Talit.
