Press Release

CONTACT: Juliet Johnson 202.828.8820
October 12, 2007

SCA Coalition Educates Congress on Sudden Cardiac Arrest

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Coalition gathered on Capitol Hill to educate Congress in hopes of turning their attention to SCA and taking steps to save lives

(WASHINGTON DC — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Coalition is dedicated to preventing sudden cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death in the United States. Now more than 30 members strong, the Coalition, which is co-chaired by the Heart Rhythm Society, is working to have the United States Congress take up major legislation that would lead to greater public awareness, research and access to life-saving treatments for sudden cardiac arrest.

On Wednesday, October 10 in Washington, DC, 15 members of the Coalition met with the four Co-Chairs of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Caucus and their staff, to advocate for their sponsorship of this important legislation. In addition, Congresswoman Lois Capps delivered a powerful speech (see text below) to the House of Representatives calling for a focused effort to fight sudden cardiac arrest.

The United States government has had great success combating other leading killers in this country — lung cancer, breast cancer, stroke and even AIDS. But since sudden cardiac arrest kills more American every year than any of those diseases, imagine what will be possible when they turn their massive resources towards fighting this leading killer?

To learn more about the Coalition and what you can do to help, please visit www.stopcardiacarrest.org.

"Fight Sudden Cardiac Arrest"

Speech of Honorable Lois Capps of California in the House of Representatives, Wednesday, October 10, 2007

"Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and Representative Chip Pickering to call attention to one of our Nation's leading causes of death — sudden cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, far too little is known and even less is being done to address the prevalence of this serious condition. Sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of more than 250,000 Americans every year.

"Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs abruptly and without warning, when the heart suddenly stops beating and cannot pump blood to the rest of the body. Contrary to widespread belief, sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. As the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Coalition has noted, if your heart were a house, cardiac arrest would be a problem with the electricity, while a heart attack is a problem with the plumbing.

"Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at anytime without warning. Unfortunately, even when there may be warning signs, we may not recognize their presence due to a lack of knowledge about what actually occurs during cardiac arrest.

"Such was the case for a young man from Southern California named Sebastian Hitzig. At age 24, Sebastian stepped on a toothpick, resulting in a staph infection that led to an inflammation of his heart. Several months after doctors believed he had recovered, Sebastian went to the gym for his regular workout, during which he suffered sudden cardiac arrest and nearly died. Thanks to a quick acting response team that shocked his heart back to its normal rhythm, Sebastian was literally brought back to life.

"Sebastian is one of the few lucky ones to live through a deadly sudden cardiac arrest event. We in Washington have made great strides fighting some of our Nation's deadliest killers. Our next step should be to commit to more research into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest, including increased awareness efforts to improve public knowledge of at-risk populations. We also must take steps to improve access to Automated External Defibrillators, AEDs, and implantable cardioverter defibrillators, ICD, to strengthen the 'chain of survival.'

"I ask all Members today to join us in calling for a focused effort to fight sudden cardiac arrest and to do so in honor of the countless individuals who survived sudden cardiac arrest and in memory of the more than 250,000 families each year whose loved ones are not as lucky as young Sebastian."

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The SCA Coalition is comprised of more than 30 organizations passionate about preventing Sudden Cardiac Arrest deaths through legislative initiatives that lead to greater public awareness, research and access to life-saving therapies. The SCA Coalition is focused on national issues that have the opportunity to bring about meaningful change that will save lives.