WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE EXPERIENCES SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST:

October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, an initiative of the Heart Rhythm Society to raise awareness of SCA.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest claims a life every couple of minutes, more than 350,000 SCA deaths a year.

“Ninety-five percent of those who experience SCA die because they do not receive life-saving defibrillation within four to six minutes, before brain and permanent death start to occur,” according to the Heart Rhythm Society website.

If SCA is is suspected, the HRS recommends the following steps:

Know the signs of sudden cardiac arrest and react quickly. SCA strikes immediately and without warning. Victims will collapse or fall to the ground, become unresponsive and will not breathe normally if at all.

Call 911 as soon as possible.

Start CPR as quickly as possible. For people who don’t know CPR, it’s recommended they conduct hands-only CPR, which means doing chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the middle of the victim’s chest with minimal interruptions at approximately 100 beats per minute.

Use an automated external defibrillator as soon as possible if available. AEDs are a computerized medical device that can determine a person’s heart rhythm and recognize and deliver a shock the heart needs. AEDs are increasingly available at public locations such as gyms, airports, schools, malls and office buildings. Ninetyfive percent of people who experience SCA die because they do not receive life-saving defibrillation within four to six minutes.