Two healthy 14 year old boys each playing a sport they loved, collapsed while playing sports. They were in cardiac arrest. Both boys died before a defibrillator arrived on an ambulance.
Now, their parents are pushing Congress for more funding for schools to equip their gymnasiums and athletic facilities with AEDs to help prevent such tragedies from happening again. They have joined a cardiologist to testify before a Senate committee about the startling number of such incidents that happen each year.
Some states have passed laws requiring public schools to have AEDs in place to treat sudden cardiac arrest in otherwise healthy young athletes. However, these parents want more. They wish to have mandatory funding for all secondary and elementary schools nationwide to be equipped with these lifesaving devices.
With AED prices getting lower each year (some now below $800), there seems to be no reason to not have an AED placed in a public building. I would like to see AEDs become part of the building code for a public building. Just like sprinkler systems, a conveniently placed AED would go a long way to providing rapid response and defibrillation to any sudden cardiac arrest. Many shopping malls and airports already have them in place and have been used successfully by bystanders to revive victims.
What about churches, supermarkets, large restaurant chains, travel centers? Each of these locations see people in sufficient numbers that they would surely benefit from an AED placed there. They could advertise it right alongside their sign for “Air Conditioned: Come on in, it’s cool!”
“Bring grandpa and his heart condition. We’ve got an AED!”
