Doug Roth is the CEO of Heart and Stroke.
Would you do anything if you saw a building on fire? Not likely.
Since childhood, we have been trained on what to do in case of a fire and to act quickly. Our buildings are equipped with special exits, well-maintained smoke detectors, alarms, sprinklers and fire extinguishers. As a society, we have made fire safety a top priority. And rightly so.
There is also the serious medical emergency of cardiac arrest, which must be dealt with in a similarly systematic manner. This is a very urgent but treatable condition. Cardiac arrest is often sudden and unexpected, and can occur at any time, anywhere, and in anyone of any age.
Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack. A heart attack is more of a “plumbing” problem: the heart continues pumping even though blood flow is slowed or blocked. Cardiac arrest is often referred to as an “electrical” problem, as if a heart breaker switch had been turned off. A person who goes into cardiac arrest collapses and becomes unresponsive. They may not be breathing normally, may only be making gasping sounds, or may not be breathing at all.
If you think sudden cardiac arrest is unlikely, think again. New data from Heart and Stroke shows that approximately 60,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals each year in Canada, which is far higher than previous estimates. This equates to one cardiac arrest every nine minutes. Unfortunately, only one in 10 Canadians survives out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
And in most cases, if you witness cardiac arrest, it’s also happened to someone you know.
It happened in my own family. His brother-in-law was riding his bike home when he went into cardiac arrest. Very fortunate for all of us that our neighbors realized what was happening and knew what to do. She performed CPR on her for over 10 minutes until her paramedics arrived. He received excellent treatment and thankfully made an amazing recovery.
This reminded me of what I already knew professionally, on a very personal level. If someone goes into cardiac arrest, only quick action can save their life – every second counts. CPR keeps blood circulating to keep the brain alive, and an automated external defibrillator (AED) delivers a shock to the heart to help restart it.
There are three things to remember. First, call 9-1-1 and yell for someone to bring you an AED. Then immediately begin hands-only CPR. Third, use an AED as soon as it is available. AEDs are safe, easy to use, and deliver shocks only when necessary.
It may seem simple, but to improve survival rates and outcomes in cardiac arrest, we must create a culture of cardiac safety.
Everyone should learn CPR and how to use an AED from an early age. Both are easy to learn and easy to perform. But people need the power to take action. This means raising awareness of cardiac arrest and giving people the skills and confidence to take action. It’s important to find new ways to create generations of lifesavers, such as Heart and Stroke’s CardiacCrash program. This program takes an immersive and realistic approach to learning CPR and AED skills.
AEDs also need to be more widely available. Additionally, AEDs must be registered, associated with 9-1-1 dispatch, and properly maintained. The public should be able to find and access them. Better data supports improved quality throughout the emergency response system. New research drives innovation and improves survival rates and outcomes, including by helping to better identify people at high risk of experiencing cardiac arrest. Government has a big role to play. Legislation is an important tool to ensure that many of the needed changes occur.
Other jurisdictions, such as Seattle and some European cities, have made addressing cardiac arrest a priority and have implemented policy measures of this type. As a result, survival rates are much higher.
You could do the same thing in Canada if you wanted to. We know what we must do as a society to save more lives and keep more families together.