Project ADAM: Iowa Heartland

We offer an onsite, phone, and a written review of your current cardiac emergency action plan (EAP). A comprehensive EAP may save the life of a student, staff member, parent, or visitor who experiences sudden cardiac arrest.

What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) happens when a child or adult experiences a sudden collapse because of ventricular fibrillation. This disorganized heart rhythm causes the heart to suddenly stop beating normally, and blood does not pump through the body. Because blood isn’t reaching the lungs or brain, the person suddenly passes out and becomes unresponsive with no pulse and abnormal or no breathing.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a device that looks for a shockable heart rhythm and delivers a shock only if needed. It is small, portable, automated, and easy to operate. Voice prompts give instructions, and AED will not shock someone unless it is needed. Successful resuscitation depends on treatment with CPR and an AED within two to three minutes of the person’s collapse.

• There are approximately 350,000 sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. annually, equal to almost 1,000 every day.
• About 7,000 children and adolescents suffer sudden cardiac arrest every year
• Approximately 20% of a community is in its schools on any given day, including students, teachers, staff, spectators, and family members
• Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes
• Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory) began at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in 1999 after a series of sudden cardiac deaths among high school athletes. Adam Lemel passed away on the basketball court due to sudden cardiac arrest.
• Adam’s parents and Dr. Stuart Berger, a pediatric cardiologist, founded Project ADAM to increase education and preparedness for sudden cardiac arrest in schools.