The life-saving equipment is on hand at Abbotsford Exhibition Park. The B.C.’s leading Heart and Stroke Big Bike team placed an automated external defibrillator (AED) in Abbotsford Exhibition Park.
Importance of AEDs
The “Big Heart Champions” team won the opportunity to place the AED via a Big Bike fundraising challenge. This opportunity was meaningful for team member Dustin Heinrichs as his life was saved by a paramedic’s AED 3 years ago.
Dustin’s life was saved when he had a sudden cardiac arrest at home. His wife called 911 and performed CPR. When the paramedics arrived, they utilized an AED to successfully restart his heart.
With the help of individuals, community groups and corporate sponsors such as The Big Heart Champions, AEDs will become readily available in B.C. to save lives. Around 45,000 cases of sudden cardiac arrests occur yearly where most occur either at home or in public areas.
For each minute that passes without assistance, the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest significantly drops up to 10%.
CPR training is easy and affordable and can help save a life of a family member or friend. When an AED is used after CPR in the first few minutes, it significantly improves the chances of survival up to 75%.
For more information about this story, click here to learn.
LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a training course on CPR and AED and for more information, check out these sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_arrest