Time is the Key: Red Cross Pushes AED Awareness

Written by Mason Anderson, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

May 20, 2002 — As crowds poured into Washington, D.C., April 6 to view the picturesque “National Cherry Blossom Festival,” Officer Mark Varanelli was prepared for any emergency that might arise. An experienced emergency services worker, Varanelli knew that one of the most critical emergency resources he would need was an automated external defibrillator (AED), a portable device that delivers a potentially life-saving electric shock to the hearts of victims suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.

Walter Kilpatrick, right, is alive today because Officer Varanelli had an AED available.

While patrolling the national monuments, Varanelli received a call that a tow truck operator was having trouble breathing. Within two minutes, Varanelli was at the base of the Washington Monument using an AED on Walter Kilpatrick. Because of the officer’s quick response and preparation, Kilpatrick survived.

On Thursday May 16, Officer Varanelli and Mr. Kilpatrick told their story at a congressional briefing hosted by the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association in conjunction with other AED industry leaders. The briefing provided background on the benefits of AED training and public access to defibrillation (PAD) programs. California Rep. Lois Capps (D-22nd) and Illinois Rep. John Shimkus (R-20th), cosponsors of the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation Act, spoke at the Capitol Hill event in support of their legislation aimed at increasing federal funding for community and state resources to help implement PAD programs.

Each year, more than 250,000 people of all ages die from sudden cardiac arrest. Different from a heart attack, the condition makes the heart abruptly stop, causing people to collapse and quickly lose consciousness. The most effective way to revive them is with CPR and AEDs - and the quicker the response, the greater the chance of survival.

American Red Cross representative Steve Denne (left) thanks Illinois Rep. John Shimkus (R-20th), a cosponsor of the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation Act, for his support.

In order to make AEDs readily available throughout the nation, the American Red Cross developed “Project Lifesaver: Increasing Public Access to Defibrillation,” a campaign designed to help communities plan and implement access to defibrillation programs by providing AED education, training, and support for state and federal AED legislation, and by urging communities to obtain AEDs.

Representing the American Red Cross at the briefing, Steve Denne, senior director of health and safety services remarked, "The goals of the Red Cross include having at least one person trained in CPR and the use of AEDs in every household, and assuring that every American be within four minutes of an AED and someone trained to use it,”

The Red Cross hopes to make AEDs as common as fire extinguishers through the Project Lifesaver campaign by providing the crucial knowledge of the cardiac chain of survival, a technique that could save 50,000 lives every year.

There are four steps to the “Cardiac Chain of Survival”: 1) early recognition and early activation of 9-1-1 or the local emergency number; 2) initiating CPR; 3) early defibrillation using an automated external defibrillator (AED); and 4) early advanced life support.

During her 20 year tenure as a nurse, California Rep. Lois Capps (D-22nd) learned the importance of AEDs and has become a strong advocate for AED legislation in Congress.

”Chances of survival from sudden cardiac arrest decreases 10 percent each minute after collapse,” said Mary Newman, executive director for the National Center for Early Defibrillation. “The key to survival is quick action on the part of those near the victim, so it is critical that people be prepared.”

Already, local Red Cross chapters across the nation have trained more than 1 million people in AED skills along with CPR. Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED programs are available for any age group and can be tailored to the needs of individuals and specific groups, including schools and businesses.

Through these programs, the Red Cross provides people with the most valuable resources needed in saving the lives of a friend, neighbor or relative.

“My goal as a nurse, a mother and a grandmother is to promote AEDS in any way I can,” said Rep. Capps. “With AEDs, we can save lives - what a gift we can give to our communities. You keep leading the way, and I will follow.”

Click here to learn more about AEDs.