Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a public health crisis that strikes over 350,000 Americans each year. Bystander intervention is key when it comes to saving victims of SCA. Only 1 in 10 victims currently survive SCA, but with immediate CPR and use of an AED, 5 in 10 victims could survive. With the new HEARTSafe initiative Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue is striving to educate Palm Beach Gardens residents on the lifesaving interventions critical to increasing these survival rates.

In addition to offering free monthly CPR classes, the city has placed public access AEDs in all city parks. These AEDs can be accessed by anyone 24/7 by calling 9-1-1 to obtain the access code. Once the AED is accessed the person simply turns on the AED and follows the prompts to provide lifesaving care.

YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO SAVE LIVES WITH THESE SIMPLE STEPS:

Learn CPR. PBGFR offers a free hands-only CPR class every month.

Call 911 and follow dispatcher instructions if someone experiences SCA.

Start CPR. Push hard and fast on the center of the chest at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute.

Use the nearest AED as quickly as possible to restart the heart.