AEDs give heart patients a better chance

In light of February being American Heart Month, I sponsored a resolution to designate Feb. 21-27 as AED Awareness Week in Pennsylvania. AED stands for automatic external defibrillator.

This resolution is geared toward educating the public about what AEDs are, and the importance of having one readily available. An AED is used in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood and becomes erratic. The end goal, of course, is to potentially save lives. I encourage all of you to question whether your workplace, children’s schools, community associations, sports teams and churches have an AED, and if they don’t, become active in working to obtain one. Approximately 360,000 cases of sudden cardiac arrest occur every year, typically without warning signs. Currently, a person has about a 5 percent chance of surviving an incident of cardiac arrest. Optimal AED placement and access allows the responder to return to the victim usually within 90 seconds, giving that person a stronger chance of surviving.

I dedicate this AED Awareness Week to Gregory Moyer, the son of my constituents, John and Rachel Moyer. Gregory passed away at the young age of 15 after experiencing sudden cardiac arrest during a high school basketball game. The Moyers continue to be extremely active with AED policy and awareness at the state and local levels.

PA Rep. Rosemary Brown
East Stroudburg