Download 3SuddEn CARdiAC ARREST All StAFF AwAREnESS

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Sudden cardiac arrest
all staff Awareness
Project ADAM Wisconsin | www.projectadam.com
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Script: Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and AED Staff
Awareness
A program script and power point presentations are available upon request. Project ADAM Wisconsin can
additionally train staff and volunteers to administer this training. Please contact Allison Thompson, Project
ADAM Administrator, [email protected] OR 414-266-1666 to plan or schedule a training. This presentation
lasts approximately 20 minutes. You will need a computer, internet access and a projector or screen. An all staff
meeting is the best venue for this presentation.
Main Objectives for Project ADAM All Staff SCA and AED Training:
1. Identify Adam Lemel’s Story
2. Identify Sudden Cardiac Arrest signs and possible treatment
3. Explain why schools need to be prepared for cardiac emergencies
After this brief presentation, a cardiac emergency response drill demonstration supported by Project ADAM
staff can be coordinated.
Project ADAM Wisconsin | www.projectadam.com
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Handout: Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)
• There are over 420,000 sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) in the US each year. These victims could be on your
staff or visitors to your school.
• During sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) the heart goes into ventricular fibrillation or “ineffective quivering” and
no longer pumps blood to the brain and other vital organs. Most victims have no history of heart disease.
• Early CPR and early defibrillation with an automated external defibrillator (AED) are required to save the
victim’s life.
• Time is the critical element in saving these victims. Three to five minutes is the optimum time for
emergency response, much shorter than the average EMS response time. Someone on the staff needs to
call 911, while a responder initiates CPR and someone else brings the AED to the scene if there is one in
the school.
• Survival rates decrease by 10% with each minute of delay.
• A shock delivered by an AED within 3-5 minutes can save a life. The AED, when applied, will look for a
“shockable” heart rhythm and will only deliver a shock if it is needed.
• A victim of sudden cardiac arrest will either just collapse for no known reason, or may briefly complain
of feeling “faint” or dizzy before collapsing. There may be seizure-like activity, gasping or ineffective
breathing for a very short time.
• A core first responder team of at least 5 staff members (or 10% of staff) should have current training in
CPR and AED use. Practice drills are recommended at least annually. Regular, documented maintenance
of the AEDs is also necessary.
• Since anyone might be the witness, it is important for all staff members to have some general awareness
of these facts: what a sudden cardiac arrest looks like, warning signs, importance of a rapid response,
basic AED information (such as where it is and what it is), the school communication plan and how they
can help in the emergency response.
Project ADAM Wisconsin | www.projectadam.com
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Handout: SCA What Coaches, Athletic Trainers and
Athletic Directors Need to Know
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in young athletes, affecting
an estimated 9,500 children each year, according to the American Heart Association.
To date, at least 29 lives in Wisconsin schools have been saved after a sudden cardiac arrest. 12 students and 17
adults are alive today because their schools were prepared for a cardiac emergency by having CPR-AED trained
staff, a communicated cardiac emergency response plan.
Catastrophic injuries can occur:
• During any physical activity, at any age
• At any level of participation
• During team and individual practices, as well as at games
• Unpredictably and without warning
Early recognition is critical
The single greatest factor affecting survival is the time interval from arrest to defibrillation.
Survival rates decrease by 10% with each minute of delayed response. The goal is to start
CPR immediately and administer the AED within 3-5 minutes after collapse.
• Sudden unresponsiveness should be considered sudden cardiac arrest until proven otherwise (with an
AED). Anyone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally, needs CPR and the AED.
• A sudden cardiac arrest victim may have some seizure-like jerking also.
• The response should be handled by the best-trained personnel available. Do not wait for EMS to arrive-average EMS response time is 6-12 minutes; brain damage begins after only 3-5 minutes.
Hands Only CPR
• Any arrest, especially one that is witnessed by another person, can be treated with Hands Only CPR until
the AED arrives. This is because the victim was breathing just before collapsing, so he can survive without
breathing assistance for several minutes.
To administer Hands Only CPR:
• Send someone to call 911, or call yourself if no one else is there
• Start continuous chest compressions:
- Hard and fast
- In the center of the chest, 2 inches down and 2 inches up
- To the beat of “Stayin’ Alive”, or a rate of 100-120 beats per minute
Project ADAM Wisconsin | www.projectadam.com
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