Today, Oct. 16, is World Restart a Heart Day and San Diego Project Heart Beat is bringing awareness to how deadly, prevalent and preventable sudden cardiac arrest is in the United States.  

Staff from Project Heart Beat hosted a CPR demonstration outside the City Administration Building today and welcomed people to learn more about the importance of CPR and using automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to save lives. Sudden cardiac arrest happens when the heart ceases proper functioning and requires immediate intervention. 

“Sudden cardiac arrest takes the lives of nearly 350,000 people per year,” said Maureen O’Connor, San Diego Project Heart Beat Program Manager. “Through education and easy access to AED machines, that number can be drastically reduced, and we already have evidence of this in our local community.”  

AEDs are portable devices that, when used in tandem with CPR, can help keep a person alive until further medical assistance arrives. Along with educating people on how to recognize cardiac distress and respond quickly to potentially save a life, Project Heart Beat has a goal of making AEDs as accessible as fire extinguishers. To date, the program has helped place over 10,000 AEDs in public and private facilities throughout the region and has been responsible for saving over 214 lives, including five children.   

As both a nationally and internationally recognized program, San Diego Project Heart Beat has inspired other municipalities to replicate the City of San Diego’s efforts, including cities in Florida, Tennessee, Minnesota and Nevada. The program is funded through a combination of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department support and a corporate partnership with AED Brands, LLC. 

“Project Heart Beat is an enormously beneficial program to the entire county of San Diego,” said Chief Robert Logan of the City’s Fire-Rescue Department. “Sudden cardiac arrest doesn’t need to be so deadly, and it comes down to having the knowledge and acumen to be prepared. Project Heart Beat delivers that.”  

 To learn more about the City’s Project Heart Beat program and request to have an AED installed, visit the Project Heart Beat webpage.