Why AEDs?

While athletic activity and exercise are good for the body and we encourage youth to participate in physical activities regularly, they can potentially trigger sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) or sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people ¹. SCA is the leading cause of death in young athletes ^2,3. According to the American Heart Association⁴ over 7,000 youth experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year in the U.S. with 3,000 of those cases resulting in SCD. In 2019, SCD accounted for 76% of the total deaths in youth sports with 36% occurring at basketball, 16% at baseball, 16% at football, and 13% at soccer. Of the total SCDs, 73% occurred among youth between the ages of 12 to 14 with African American males being at the highest risk ¹.

The prevention of SCA in young people has historically been an unsolved public health problem due to the fact that there are typically no symptoms indicating a SCA may occur ⁵. If symptoms do occur, they can include shortness of breath, a racing heartbeat, chest pain or dizzy spells; symptoms commonly attributed to a vigorous workout or not seen as life-threatening in a healthy young person.