BOSTON — Volunteers celebrated a milestone Sunday in their quest to help save lives around the country. Cardiac Crusade is a national group that is trying to map out automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, around the country.
The group started an initiative focused on Boston last fall. On Sunday, they held an event after mapping 1,500 of the life-saving devices around the city.
“People don’t know commonly where an AED is, and you need to get that shock from an AED because it’s the only thing that will restart the heart,” Co-founder Greg Coon said. “Knowing where the AEDs are located is literally saving lives.”
Coon created Cardiac Crusade, after his wife Julie’s heart stopped. Thankfully, there was an AED that brought in to revive her after she was given CPR. Since then, Coon has made it their mission to try and help save as many people as they can.
Their goal is to locate AEDs anywhere in a city from restaurants, bars, and shops. They upload the location to a national database that first responders can use during an emergency. When seconds matter, finding an AED is critical.
“Life is precious and it can change so quickly. Without awareness, people don’t know,” cardiac arrest survivor Matt Critz said. “What would be worse than watching a loved one die in front of you because you don’t have the ability to save them?”
Critz joined as a volunteer wanting to pay it forward after his heart stopped. He said he was a healthy runner and never expected to have his heart stop. An AED saved his life, and he wants to make sure others have the ability to find and use the device.
“If one person is saved by an AED then you know we’ve done a lot.”
Coon says some parts of Eastern Massachusetts have a cardiac arrest survival rate of 3%. In other cities where they’ve mapped out AEDs, like San Diego California, the survival rate is much higher, 50%. Coon claims first responders can easily access where AEDs are during a medical episode.
His goal is to partner with Google and Apple Maps so people can see on their phone where the nearest AED is located. That would make it easier for anybody to step in to help someone in need of a shock.
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