PITTSBURGH, Jan. 8 The statistics are alarming. According to research reported in a 1996 issue of Circulation, a publication by the American Heart Association, it is estimated that one out of every 100,000 to 300,000 high school athletes will die from sudden cardiac death each year. The average age of collapse is 17, and a large percentage of these victims are male. The cause of sudden death in young competitive athletes varies, but most result from an undiagnosed congenital heart abnormality, which tragically provides few or no prior symptoms.

To help reduce the mortality of sudden cardiac arrest in young students, school athletes and adults, the National Center for Early Defibrillation (NCED) at the University of Pittsburgh is hosting an issues forum, "Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the Schools," on Jan. 15 at the Marriott Bay Point Resort in Panama City Beach, Fla.

Parents of young sudden cardiac arrest victims; emergency medicine and cardiology experts; representatives of the American Heart Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the EMS for Children National Resource Center, the Association of School Nurses; AED manufacturers and national training organizations will convene from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to discuss ideas on how to start defibrillator programs for schools. Other topics on the agenda will include laws and liability issues, pre-participation screenings for teen athletes, funding for school-site AED programs, program implementation, training and data collection.

The forum is taking place the day before the annual meeting of the National Association of EMS Physicians.

"While schools are primarily a location for children and teens, they are also gathering places for adults and the elderly who may attend public meetings, evening classes and sporting events. It makes sense to have portable AEDs available in these public places because one never knows where or when sudden cardiac arrest may occur," sa
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8-Jan-2003

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