Defibrillators

There are two things you want around if you ever suffer a sudden cardiac arrest or a heart attack.  One is an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and the other is a person who can administer CPR.  Without these, you have little chance of surviving a heart-stopping arrest. 

There is a good chance that you will personally witness a cardiac arrest in your lifetime.  For me, that's enough of a reason to hope that everyone knows CPR (especially the guy standing next to me if I suddenly drop dead).  Without it, you have little chance of surviving a heart-stopping arrest. 

Here are some disturbing statistics published by the American Heart Association.  Much of this is taken from Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2009 Update.

People die every day because they ignore the signs of a heart attack.  They don't want to "bother" anyone, or they thought the symptoms would just go away.  Here's the deal, though... you never know for sure and it's not worth guessing.  Personally, I'd rather be sent home with a prescription for GasX than be sent home in a box.

Valentine's Day and President's Day aren't the only holidays we'll be celebrating this month. February is American Heart Month! Cross my heart.