Akron General Medical Center has been named the administering organization for the funds provided by the State of Ohio to supply automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to individual schools throughout the State.

Former Governor Bob Taft signed legislation that made available 2.5 million dollars generated from the tobacco settlement to fund the first step in an effort to provide AEDs for Ohio's 5,000 public and private schools. It is estimated that a total of approximately 7.5 million dollars must be raised to fully implement the goal of placing an AED in every Ohio school. By naming the Akron General Medical Center as the not-for-profit administering organization, the State has put into motion the initial phase of this very important program.

Akron General's placement program is highly developed and detailed, since providing schools with AEDs alone can result in tragic, unintended consequences arising from confusion at the school over what to do when an incident occurs. Training for a minimum of five people at each school is included. In addition, the distribution plan provides not only the actual training, but also the orchestration of the training process, the placement of the AEDs, the alignment with the local paramedic units, as well as the template for each school's emergency response plan regarding cardiac arrest. This comprehensive effort will ensure schools have what they need to maintain a successful program.

Each day in the United States, more than 1,200 people die from cardiac arrest before they can be admitted to a hospital. Cardiac arrest, usually resulting from some form of underlying heart disease, is due to abnormal rhythms or arrhythmias. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest. VF is a condition in which the heart's electrical impulses suddenly become chaotic, causing the heart's pumping to abruptly stop. Death follows within minutes. Defibrillation is the only treatment for VF. This technique of giving an electrical shock can restore the heart's normal rhythm if it is done within minutes of the cardiac arrest.

AEDs have made it possible for trained, as well as untrained, lay rescuers to deliver life-saving defibrillation shock to cardiac arrest victims. These small, portable devices administer an electric shock through the chest wall to the heart. A built-in computer assesses the patient's heart rhythm, judges whether defibrillation is needed, and then administers the shock. Audible and/or visual prompts guide the user through the process. These shocks can convert ventricular fibrillation into a normal heart rhythm and save lives.

In the United States, the successful resuscitation from sudden cardiac arrest is a dismal 3-5%. In recent years, efforts to place AEDs in public spaces has led to a decrease in the incidence of death from cardiac arrests in the adult population from over one-half million Americans to approximately 300,000 per year.

Unfortunately, the percentage of death from cardiac arrest among our youth has increased by 10% over the past decade. Every year in America, thousands of children die from sudden cardiac arrest. And the magnitude of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes may well be underestimated, as there is no suitable registry to follow this tragic occurrence.

Akron General's partner in the AED program is Cardiac Science, a world leader in medical technology and the market leader in AEDs.

For more information and to apply to this program, visit: www.ohioschoolaedprogram.com