Our weekly update on news in the world of heart safety and noninvasive cardiology

Good Samaritan bills to encourage AED use

The Oklahoma legislature gave support to Good Samaritans by passing Senate Bill 745, a law to  increase protection from liability for people who use an AED to assist cardiac arrest victims. The bill (passed unanimously in both houses) now heads for the Governor’s desk. There’s much celebration at “You’re the Cure,” the Oklahoma chapter of the American Heart Association.

The Baltimore Sun reports that a man who survived sudden cardiac arrest because a 16-year-old at the YMCA used an AED to restart his heart testified before the Maryland Senate on behalf of a bill that would limit liability for businesses and organizations that make defibrillators available for use. The state’s House of Delegates has already voted 133-1  to approve the Good Samaritan measure. A trial attorneys’ organization spoke in opposition to the bill.

In Arizona, State Rep. Nancy Barto introduced a bill she says would fix a flaw in the state’s current Good Samaritan law. The current law limits protection for AED owners.

Study pinpoints genetic factors in sudden cardiac death

NewsRx reports that by pooling the data from three major heart health studies, researchers have been able to identify genetic factors associated with sudden cardiac death. The factors that affect the QT interval measured by the electrocardiogram. The study found 14 variants in 10 gene regions are related to QT interval duration. Identification of these gene variants makes it easier for physicians to determine which individuals may become vulnerable to sudden cardiac death after taking certain medications. The article appears in the current issue of Nature Genetics.

Wisconsin hospitals pay for community AEDs

We’d like to salute two Wisconsin hospitals with programs to place AEDs in their communities. Waupun Memorial Hospital recently awarded grants to both the police department and city hall for Powerheart Plus AEDs. The hospital has paid for AEDs to be placed in six other public sites in the community.

Beaver Dam Community Hospitals Foundation matched a grant for the placement of a Powerheart AED in a Mayville police car; the foundation has a program by which it pays half the cost of an AED for a community organization; it has currently assisted with the placement of 17 AEDs for 12 community groups and agencies.

Related Products

Powerheart AED G3 Plus

Powerheart AED G3 Fully Automatic and Semi-automatic

Burdick Atria 3100 ECG

Burdick Atria 6100 ECG

Quinton Q-Stress cardiac stress machine

…

Last 5 posts

• Cardiac Science AEDs in Spain [VIDEO] - April 4th, 2011
• Cardiac Science wins first major public access defibrillation program in Europe - March 30th, 2011
• Georgia Park saves 5 lives with AEDs - March 24th, 2011
• Sad stories, avoidable deaths? - March 23rd, 2011
• Texas school's AED saves 6-year-old's life - March 22nd, 2011