Cardiac Science, in conjuction with Rescue AED, a Division of Southbay Learning Center, donated an automated external defibrillator (AED) to the American Heart Association’s Miami office.  The AED was presented to the American Heart Association by Rescue AED director Ruben Rayneri on May 18th at the Miami-Dade division community board meeting.  The AED will be placed in the American Heart Association’s Miami office, headquartered in a high-rise, off of Coral Way.

An AED is a small, portable device that can send an electric shock through the chest wall to the heart and restore a patient’s heart rhythm to normal levels before emergency crews arrive on the scene.  It’s a crucial part of the “Chain of Survival,” which is a four step process designed to save victims of sudden cardiac arrest.  Those steps include: (1) calling 9-1-1, (2) performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), (3) administering early defibrillation with an AED, and (4) getting victims early advance care.

The American Heart Association estimates that each day, more than 95 percent of Americans who suffer cardiac arrest die before reaching the hospital.  That equates to nearly 930 deaths a day, or 340,000 annually.  It’s estimated that 45,000 to 50,000 lives could be saved every year if AEDs were more widely available in the community.