The American Heart Association reports that more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year, including more than 23,000 youth under age 18, making it the leading cause of death in the United States. 

Although a heart attack can lead to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the two are not the same. SCA is when the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating unexpectedly, whereas a heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is blocked but the heart continues to beat. Survival rates nationally for SCA are less than 10%, but delivery of CPR can sustain life until paramedics arrive by maintaining vital blood flow to the heart and brain. However, only about a third of SCA victims receive bystander CPR. Without CPR, brain damage or death can occur in minutes. The average EMS response time is nine minutes, even in urban settings; after 10 minutes there is little chance of successful resuscitation. The American Heart Association estimates that effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after SCA, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. 

Based on data submitted by EMS agencies to CSEMS, in the SAW area, when an AED was used, 82% of the time it was used by a first responder or healthcare worker. CPR was performed in approximately 45% of prehospital cardiac arrests. In these cases, bystanders only performed CPR 39% of the time. SAW responders see increasing bystander responses as an area for improvement. 

PulsePoint is a public 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation that builds applications for use by public safety agencies to increase community awareness during critical events. The PulsePoint Respond mobile app notifies trained individuals of the nearby need for CPR and the PulsePoint AED registry identifies AED (automated external defibrillator) locations for use by the public and 9-1-1 telecommunicators during emergency call taking. PulsePoint also provides specialized mobile apps for professional responders. Learn more at pulsepoint.org or join the conversation at Facebook and Twitter. The free app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.