MEDTRONIC
LAUNCHES NATIONAL HEART-SAFE
SCHOOL EDUCATION INITIATIVE
More than 7,000 children
die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, and most schools lack AEDs;
Survival rates can be as high as 70 percent if defibrillation occurs in
the first three minutes
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oct.
20, 2003 - Medtronic Physio-Control, the leader in defibrillation technology,
today announced a national school education initiative to inform parents,
students, community leaders and educators about the importance of access
within schools to automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which can
save lives of those who experience sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
The announcement marks the beginning of a week of activities surrounding
The National Center for Early Defibrillation's (NCED) Congress of Champions
and Survivor Summit, which is taking place Oct. 22-24 in Washington, D.C.
The national education initiative, called LIFEPAK® Heart Safe Schools,
is being launched at Washington, D.C.'s Cardozo High School, where three
people have died in the past two years from sudden cardiac arrest. Today
the school announced that it soon will be equipped with Medtronic LIFEPAK®
AEDs, one of the world's leading portable defibrillation devices, and
will provide CPR/AED training thanks to the efforts of the DC Fire and
Emergency Medical Services Department and the Prince Hall Masons.
"We're proud to partner with Cardozo High School and area community
and civic leaders to ensure that both students and adults who use the
school as a community center will have access to life-saving defibrillators,"
said Robert White, president, Medtronic Physio-Control. "We hope
that schools across the country follow Cardozo's lead and learn how to
make their schools heart-safe."
LIFEPAK® Heart Safe Schools is a complete, ready-to-use package of
services that integrates the components necessary to bring lifesaving
AED technology to schools across the country.
By visiting an
easy-to-use Web site, www.aedhelp.com,
parents, teachers and administrators can find detailed, step-by-step information
about the program and how to make a school heart-safe, including:
 |
A complete "how
to" guide and school AED implementation kit; |
|
AED funding ideas
and assistance from professional grant writers; |
|
School site assessment
programs; |
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Special pricing
for schools; |
|
A checklist for
"champions" of school AED programs; and |
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A training CD-Rom
produced by NCED aimed at high school students. |
Sudden
Cardiac Arrest - A Misunderstood, Often Treatable Condition
Sudden cardiac arrest is a frequently misunderstood worldwide killer.
It can affect anyone, anywhere, anytime, including children. In fact,
the American Heart Association estimates that 7,000 to 10,000 children
and up to 450,000 Americans total die each year from sudden cardiac arrest.
Relying on first responders and other emergency medical personnel isn't
always an answer. While these groups do their best to quickly arrive at
the scene of a cardiac arrest, they cannot control factors like traffic
or delayed calls from the scene to a dispatcher, and not all emergency
medical personnel are equipped with AEDs. While not everyone can be saved
with an AED, survival rates can jump from less than 5 percent to nearly
70 percent if defibrillation occurs within the first three to five minutes.
The average response time to a 911 call is six to 12 minutes. This fact
underscores the importance for AEDs in schools and public places.
"The importance of AEDs in schools is best illustrated by looking
at two school
systems - Cardozo High School and Hoover High School in Birmingham, Ala.,"
White said. "At Cardozo, within two years, three people died from
sudden cardiac arrest because no AEDs were available, whereas in Birmingham,
three people also suffered from cardiac arrests, yet all three people
survived because AEDs were available in the schools."
"Studies show that time is of the essence if defibrillators are to
be effective in saving lives," said Dr. Fernando Daniels III, medical
director for DC Fire and EMS. "Obviously, wider availability of AEDs,
particularly in schools, would provide peace of mind and could be instrumental
in saving the lives of many people who might otherwise die because a defibrillator
did not arrive in time."
AED
Education Resources Now Available
A successful AED program takes much more than an effective AED, which
is why Medtronic Physio-Control created LIFEPAK Heart Safe Solutions.
The program offers:
|
A cost-effective
and hassle-free way to implement an AED program; |
|
Medical direction,
ongoing professional management, and assistance in meeting federal,
state and local requirements; and |
|
One point of contact
for questions or problems. |
"Schools that
contain AEDs have greater sudden cardiac arrest survival rates, while
schools without AEDs do not fare so well," White said. "Some
communities, like New York City, are mandating that schools contain AEDs.
However, until those mandates become more widespread, it's crucial that
local leaders educate themselves about sudden cardiac arrest and how AED
programs like LIFEPAK Heart Safe Schools can help improve survival rates."
LIFEPAK AEDs are prescription devices, and AED users should be trained
in CPR and the use of the AED. Standard electrodes are used on people
8 years of age and older, while infant/child reduced-energy electrodes
are available with the LIFEPAK® CR Plus AED and specially configured
LIFEPAK® 500 AEDs for use on children up to 8 years old or 25 kg (55lb).
Medtronic Physio-Control, located in Redmond, Wash., pioneered defibrillation
technology nearly 50 years ago. With 350,000 LIFEPAK defibrillators distributed
worldwide, it is the world's leading provider of external defibrillators
for the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest. To find out more about AEDs
and the LIFEPAK Heart Safe Solutions program, go to www.aedhelp.com.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's
leading medical technology company, providing lifelong solutions for people
with chronic disease. Its Internet address is www.medtronic.com.
# # #
Any statements made
about the company's anticipated financial results and regulatory approvals
are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties such
as those described in Medtronic's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended April 25, 2003. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated
results.
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