Each year, roughly 350,000 people in the U.S. suffer sudden cardiac arrest. The survival rate hovers at just 20%, but when bystanders step in and perform CPR or use an automated external defibrillator (AED), that number jumps to around 80%. Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego is part of a nationwide effort to provide training on what to do when a sudden cardiac event occurs and show that just about anyone can help in an emergency—even kids.
The Hospital is an affiliate of Project ADAM, a program that helps schools around the country prepare an emergency response plan should someone experience a sudden cardiac event. This includes training personnel to do CPR or use an AED, establishing written protocols and regularly practicing via emergency drills. Once procedures are in place, the school is considered a “Heart Safe School.” All 32 campuses that make up the Sweetwater Union High School District recently earned the designation.
Another important part of being heart safe is ensuring that students learn CPR. Around 20,000 students have been trained over the past few months to provide immediate, life-saving assistance.
“We call it ‘sidewalk CPR,’” says Rohit Rao, MD, medical director of the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit and Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Rady Children’s, and Project ADAM’s medical director. “We’re trying to teach the next generation to respond to a situation if they were to witness one rather than just wait for emergency medical services.”
Dr. Rao hopes to see even more schools sign on to become Heart Safe Schools. Every student who learns CPR has the potential to save somebody’s life.
“Every minute spent after somebody has a sudden cardiac arrest without an AED and CPR reduces the survival chance by around 10%,” he says. “It means a lot to me as a pediatric cardiologist to see this movement empowering our next generation to know that if they see a person in trouble, they can help. Having schools certified as heart safe with cardiac emergency response plans in place will go a long way to saving lives.”