According to a press release, Friends of Heart, a fund of the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation, along with Master Medical Equipment, Mid-South Heart Center, PC & West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center, proudly donated two automated external defibrillators (AED) in Paris, to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
This gift was made possible thanks to contributions from Friends of Heart representatives.
One of the main goals of Friends of Heart is to provide the community with live-saving resources.
These devices recalibrate deadly heart rhythms of a person who has gone into cardiac arrest. These actions can mean the difference between life and death, especially in rural areas where it can take EMS longer to arrive. The AEDs are simple to use and can be operated without a medical professional present.
Friends of Heart has now placed over 60 AEDs in public rural areas throughout West Tennessee.
Friends of Heart partners with the West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center to meet the needs of heart patients. It’s mission is to be a community led and community focused group, ensuring the best heart and vascular care for West Tennesseans.’
This effort is designed to keep fundraising dollars local, serving the people of West Tennessee.
AEDs are a very important part of the total response to sudden cardiac arrest in the community.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the US claiming approximately 365,000 lives in North America each year.
Most commonly this sudden cardiac arrest, or stoppage of the heart, occurs because of an electrical event. Automated External Defibrillators in the community allow bystanders to deliver a shock to a patient’s heart quickly while others proceed to contact and/or direct medical professionals in the scene area.
Survival is directly linked to the time interval between the SCA and the first AED shock delivered to the victim. Statistics validate that when a shock is delivered within one minute, survival rates can increase seventeen fold from five percent (by relying on EMS only to respond) to levels as high as 86 percent in some cases.
Friends of Heart’s main Key Initiatives are:
* Increase opportunities for clinical research and technological advancement in West Tennessee
* Develop and fund better community outreach, education, and resource development
* Develop a mechanism for improved staff education and development
* Construct the first integrated heart center within our 18-county region
(PHOTO: Friends of Heart presents 2 AED’s to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office – courtesy Friends of Heart)
David Thomas, Twitter– @DavidThomasWNWS
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