A MESSAGE FROM MAYOR ROBERT CLUCK & FIRE CHIEF ROBIN PAULSGROVE

Every year over 350,000 people die from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the United States. In Texas, SCA kills more than 26,000 annually, 70 each day! While the numbers seem grim, SCA is a treatable condition. With strong public access defibrillation programs, we can dramatically change the outcome of this deadly event.

Many victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest can be saved by rapid defibrillation, or shocking of the heart. If defibrillation is available in the first 60 seconds of an arrest, the chance of survival approaches 90%. For every minute that passes without defibrillation, a victim’s chance of survival decreases by ten percent. After as little as ten minutes, very few resuscitation attempts are successful. While cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) "buys time", CPR alone is generally not enough. 

Survivors of cardiac arrest usually have four things in common:

1. Someone witnessed the event, recognized the emergency and called 911.
2. Someone started chest compressions and rescue breathing (CPR) immediately.
3. Someone arrived quickly with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to shock the heart back to a healthier rhythm.
4. Emergency medical personnel provided advanced care and subsequently transported the victim to an appropriate hospital.

These same four things are the links in what the American Heart Association refers to as the "Chain of Survival." 

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