Advance Patient Care
Part of our mission at the ERHF® is to improve outcomes for CHD warriors, so we fund research projects and Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs). Detection of heart defects was greatly improved in 2013 with the Emerson Rose Act as all babies were required to be tested for heart defects at birth. Although early detection testing does not always catch defects there are multiple generations born before 2013 who were not tested at birth. There are middle schoolers, high schoolers, and even adults that may have a heart defect that has not shown noticeable symptoms yet.
I spoke with one family that shared they were on vacation and one of the parents went into cardiac arrest and someone gave them CPR to save their life. Once they were checked out, they found they had a heart defect that was likely from birth that they had never noticed symptoms until now. They were in their 40s! For this reason, we advocate for better detection and emergency care like CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillator).
Nearly 1,000 people per day have a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital every year in the US. 60-80% of these people pass before reaching the hospital. With over 2,000 of those under 25, you can imagine the importance of having first responders ready in our schools. One huge contributor to these deaths is the lack of knowledge of CPR or how to use an AED by those around the individual. In 2017, SC passed into law that students must be CPR and AED trained before graduating. Also, many counties have expanded beyond their nursing staff to provide training for a first responders team made up of school staff. The issue is that most schools in SC are underfunded making this difficult to enact or to train effectively.
There are 469 high schools in the state of SC with about 50,000 students each year that need to learn CPR and AED usage. This does not include any training that could be happening in middle or elementary schools. In partnership with Pediatric Cardiology at MUSC Shawn Jenkin’s Children’s Hospital, the ERHF® has provided funds to provide a nursing staff to train SC schools in CPR and AED to make them a Project Adam Heart Safe School. In one South Carolina county alone, eight individuals in public school received CPR and AED use last year. Since taking over in January 2023, the Heart Safe SC program has run cardiac emergency response drills with and certified 21 schools as Heart Safe thanks to the work of this nurse. These trainings will help to save lives from cardiac issues and provide tools to students for the rest of their lives. Imagine a student at school that experiences a cardiac arrest. With these measures, there will be capable peers, teachers, and first responder team that can help save this child’s life. From there, doctors can help identify heart issues so they can go about having life-saving intervention and/or ongoing care.
There is so much more we can do to help improve outcomes for our heart warriors, but this is a huge step forward in saving lives and identifying heart issues that were undetected before. Help the ERHF® in bringing more awareness about these issues and impacting outcomes for heart warriors. Here are a few ways:
- Get yourself and your family screened for heart defects if you have not already. Consult with your primary care doctor.
- Follow us on social media and share with others.
- Become an ERHF® Heart Partner to help us continue to change outcomes like this. (https://emersonroseheartfoundation.org/heart-partnership/)
- Advocate with your local representative to help fund CPR/AED training and improve response to cardiac arrest. There is currently legislation being proposed to the SC State House in the form of the Smart Heart Act and the T-CPR Training Law. Send a message to your local representative to help get support for this bill. Find your rep here (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php)
- Learn morea about CPR and AEDs:
- https://musckids.org/our-services/heart-center/clinics-and-programs/heart-safe-sc
- https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/ten-points-to-remember/2022/06/22/14/24/Sudden-Cardiac-Death-in-Congenital
- https://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/Why-All-Children-Should-Be-Screened-for-Potential-Heart-Related-Issues.aspx
- https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/sudden-cardiac-arrest#:~:text=Although%20SCA%20is%20rare%20in,children%20aged%205%2D19%20years.
- https://newsroom.heart.org/local-news/south-carolina-smart-heart-act-and-t-cpr-training-law-introduced-in-the-general-assembly
