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For Young Athletes, a Key Save
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· Ensure access to an AED during practices and sporting events.
· Coordinate efforts with the local emergency medical service.
A fast response can make a difference when SCA strikes a student athlete. In March 2006, Vanderbilt University basketball player Davis Nwankwo, a 19-year-old from College Park, collapsed during team practice in Nashville. The athletic staff sprang into action: An assistant coach called 911 as the trainer summoned an AED and used it and CPR to revive Nwankwo. Nwankwo survived.
Andrew Helgeson did not. An accomplished 18-year-old athlete at Montgomery Blair High School, Helgeson died of SCA at his home in May 2005. His parents, Rita and Richard Helgeson, have honored their son's memory by campaigning for legislation requiring AEDs in all Maryland high schools -- though they acknowledge this would not have saved their son. Such a law went into effect last July. The Helgesons also advocate widespread screening of children and teens for heart abnormalities and adding CPR and AED training to high school health curricula.
"Sudden cardiac arrest is such a devastating event," Richard Helgeson said. "You have about 10 minutes [from collapse to death]. An AED can bring you back to life. The only thing that will save you is an AED. You get the shock and live, or you don't and you die."
But addressing SCA is not as simple as requiring AEDs in schools, Drezner notes. Portable, public-use AEDs cost about $1,500 each, a cost that's prohibitive for many schools, he says. Even if AEDs are donated, he adds, school staff must receive adequate training in their use -- something that doesn't always happen. Potential legal ramifications of having laypeople use AEDs discourage some schools from acquiring them. And even when a school is AED-equipped, Drezner says, sometimes people who need to use the devices don't know a school has them or where the devices are stored.
The Helgesons are undaunted. "If this could happen to Andrew, it could happen to anybody," Richard Helgeson said. "If I put five AEDs in every school and it saves one kid, I'd be happy." ·
Some resources on SCA:
· Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation ( http:/
· American Heart Association ( http:/
Jennifer Huget is a frequent contributor to the Health section. Comments:health@washpost.com.
