AED’s should be required in every school

Jan. 5, 2025  PLYMOUTH VOICE.

Plymouth Michigan News

OPINION

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a lightweight, portable device that delivers an electric shock through the chest to the heart when it detects an abnormal rhythm to bring the rhythm back to normal. They drastically improve the chance of surviving SCA– sudden cardiac arrest- when a sudden and unexpected loss of heart function stops the heart from beating normally. Having an AED immediately available is often the difference between life and death.

SCA is caused by one of two types of heart conditions.  A structural defect (HCM (Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy- or cardiomyopathy) makes it difficult for the heart to work because it is the wrong size or the valves are in the wrong place. An electrical defect (Long QT Syndrome) disrupts the normal rhythm. In both instances, the heart stops pumping blood and the individual just collapses. Exercise cans cause SCA in young athletes with HCM, even trigger well-trained athletes. One in every 500 young people in the U.S. have obstructive or non-obstructive HCM according to a recent American Heart Association survey.

Children leave the hospital as newborns and their hearts are not screened until they are symptomatic or middle-aged adults. Many people go their entire life without ever having their heart monitored for problems.

Mayo Clinic reports many people with (HCM)- considered a disease in which the heart muscle becomes thickened, also call hypertrophied, don’t realize they have it. But in a small number of people with HCM, the thickened heart muscle can cause serious symptoms. These include shortness of breath and chest pain. Some people with HCM have changes in the heart’s electrical system. These changes can result in life-threatening irregular heartbeats or sudden death.

When the SCA involves a shockable rhythm, the most important determinant of survival is time from collapse to defibrillation. Survival is estimated to decrease 10% every minute until a shock is applied.

In our community, AED’s are carried by most EMS and police responders but there is no federal or state requirement that each and every school should have one. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation as of a 2022 review 20 states including Montana, plus the District of Columbia require AEDs in schools.

Many residents are unaware that both the City of Plymouth and Northville City have on-call fire departments wherein firefighters and EMS personnel are expected to respond to the fire station when paged for significant emergency incident, adding precious minutes to the already critical response time in the event of SCA. Northville Township, Canton Township and Plymouth Township professional fire departments are staffed with full time EMTs and licensed paramedics.

Last April Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two bipartisan bills (HB 5527 & HB 5528) into law strengthening AED and CPR training requirements in schools to protect student athletes during practice and competition to ensure all high school coaches maintain valid certification for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of the AED.

HB 5527 was set to require public K-12 schools in Michigan to create cardiac emergency response plans by the start of the 2025-26 school year. The funding of the new cardiac emergency response plan requirements will come from the state. House Bill 5528 states that school codes will be revised so that athletic coaches employed in high schools must have and maintain a valid CPR and AED certification and cannot be held liable for any damages that may occur while performing CPR or using an AED.

House Bill 5527 states that schools would not have to comply “… unless the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds to implement the requirements.”

The Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC) states AED purchase costs range from $1,250 to $1,500, and costs $250/year for maintenance, with an expected useful life of 8 to 10 years. Initial training of local personnel is estimated at $300. Therefore, the $3,300 cost of 2 AEDs and training per school would be small compared with the overall per student expenditure.

Signs and symptoms of HCM include:

• Chest pain, especially with physical exertion
• Shortness of breath, especially with physical exertion
• Fatigue
• Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Fainting (syncope)
• Swelling in the lower part of your body (ankles, feet, legs) or in neck veins.

Find out if your child’s school has readily available AEDs and trained personnel.

Plymouth Voice.