MAHONING VALLEY Health groups aim to educate

Time makes all the difference between life and death for heart attack and stroke victims, medical officials say.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
YOUNGSTOWN -- The American Heart and American Stroke associations are implementing Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke in the Mahoning Valley.
Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke is a grass-roots initiative created to mobilize communities to improve awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and stroke and rapid access to treatment across the country.
The heart and stroke associations are collaborating to save lives in the Valley and elsewhere by educating the public on how to react quickly in cardiovascular emergencies, thereby improving response to cardiovascular emergencies, said Elaine Welsh, spokeswoman for the heart association's Mahoning-Columbiana division.
Time makes all the difference between life and death for victims of sudden cardiac arrest and stroke. That's why responding immediately in medical emergencies is crucial in saving a person's life, Welsh added.
Sudden cardiac arrest, which claims the lives of more than 250,000 adults in the United States, usually strikes without warning and requires immediate treatment from bystanders, otherwise the victim dies within 10 to 14 minutes, Welsh said.
Importance
Stroke patients must be assessed within three hours for possible treatment with a clot-busting drug that can significantly reduce the debilitating effects of stroke.
As a leading cause of severe, long-term disability, stroke occurs in about 600,000 Americans each year, Welsh continued.
The two programs focus on strengthening the chain of survival -- a step-by-step process for health-care professionals -- which the AHA and ASA say has been proved to reduce death and disability.
The focus of Operation Heartbeat locally is the implementation of public access to defibrillation (PAD) in police and fire departments.
Operation Stroke, launched in 2001, has made progress in the revision of emergency medical service protocols, completed over 1,500 stroke risk assessments, and coordinated a professional education seminar, as well as numerous education programs, Welsh said.
& quot;Operation Heartbeat and Operation Stroke are our top priorities at the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association because they can immediately help us save lives, & quot; said cardiologist, Dr. Michael Burley, chairman of Operation Heartbeat.
What's being done
Dr. Burley is president of the AHA's Mahoning-Columbiana division, a cardiologist on the staff at Forum Health and associated with Diagnostic Cardiology.
& quot;We are mobilizing people to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and stroke, and the standard of care for cardiovascular emergencies, & quot; he added.
Operation Heartbeat locally is assessing police, fire and EMS vehicles to determine the availability of automated external defibrillators.
Those not currently equipped with AEDs receive help in approaching local government to fund them or guidance in writing for grants to fund them, Welsh said.
Operation Heartbeat also stresses the importance of learning CPR, a vital link in the chain of survival, and providing classes.
CPR circulates oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, buying additional time for a victim until defibrillation (using an electric shock to the heart) can occur, Welsh said.
"Unfortunately, most cardiac arrest victims do not receive the care they need in time, so about 95 percent die," Dr. Burley added.
"Improving early recognition and reducing the time to treatment are our best defenses in the war against sudden cardiac arrest and stroke and can help save lives," he said.