Are you at risk for cardiac arrest?

Yes, people with heart conditions are at greater risk, but all too often, young and healthy people die due to their heart just stopping. It's called "Sudden Cardiac Arrest" and it's not friendly.

Imagine you are riding your bicycle on a sunny, spring day, and suddenly your heart goes into immediate arrest. You will pass out immediately, and if there's no AED nearby, your death is imminent. Supposedly, death due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest is painless, but imagine all the people who love you...your mother, your father ... your grandparents ... your grandchildren ... your children, your brothers and sisters .... your husband or your wife.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest can wipe out a life in the blink of an eye. It seems pretty ominous. It's estimated that approximately 450,000 people die this way each year. (By comparison, 41,000 people die in car accidents each year). According to the American Heart Association, each minute that passes after your heart stops, your chance of survival decreases by 10%.

When an Automated External Defibrillator is used within a few minutes, it increases survival rate by up to 80%.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest can strike anyone, and anytime. While you can definitely take precautionary measures to descrease your risk, it's not something you can directly prevent against. It's something you need to prepare for. As scary and fearful as unexpected death is to you, think of how it would affect your loved ones - how deeply the people you love would miss you.