President Biden earlier this week signed into law the bipartisan Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act, which will help ensure students and staff in schools nationwide are prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency. The bipartisan legislation unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September and the U.S. Senate earlier this month.
The American Heart Association, which is celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service as the world's leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health, strongly supports this legislation as part of its goal to double the survival rates from cardiac arrest nationwide by 2030 through its Nation of Lifesavers movement.
"The bipartisan HEARTS Act is a monumental step forward in saving lives from cardiac arrest on school grounds and athletic facilities across the country," said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association. "By ensuring schools nationwide are equipped with cardiac emergency response plans, CPR training and AEDs, critical resources will be available to students, staff and visitors that can mean the difference between life and death during a cardiac emergency."
"In January of 2023, I experienced cardiac arrest and was blessed to be surrounded by a team of medical professionals that saved my life," said Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills safety, member of the National Football League's Smart Heart Sports Coalition and National Ambassador for the American Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers movement. "Every year, as many as 23,000 kids experience cardiac arrest in our country, and I believe that every one of them deserves the same access to lifesaving care that I had. From schools to ball fields, this bill will help to protect kids, and I'm grateful to the lawmakers and partners who have made it a priority."
The HEARTS Act includes key provisions of the Access to AEDs Act, which was introduced in March 2023 with the support of the American Heart Association, Hamlin, the National Football League and others.
Only 40% of people who experience a cardiac arrest get the immediate help they need before emergency responders arrive. But there is growing momentum across the country to turn bystanders into lifesavers, with more people than ever saying they are willing to perform CPR in the event of an emergency. As a result of efforts by the NFL's Smart Heart Sports Coalition, of which the Association is a founding member, state legislatures across the country have passed policies to ensure schools are prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies.
The HEARTS Act will bolster these state efforts by creating a new grant program to provide schools with additional resources for CPR and AED training, the purchase of AEDs and related equipment and the development of cardiac emergency response plans. These plans can more than double survival rates from cardiac arrest by empowering people nearby to take action and call 911, start CPR and use an AED. In schools with AEDs, children who experience cardiac arrest are seven times as likely to survive as children in schools without AEDs.
"Every second counts when someone experiences a cardiac arrest, and now schools will have the resources they need to save lives," Brown said. "We are so appreciative of the bill's many champions in Congress, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Cory Booker and Susan Collins and Reps. Frank Pallone, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Bill Posey, for their persistence and commitment over the past two years to make schools safer nationwide."
The national campaign in support of the HEARTS Act has featured grassroots advocates from across the country sharing their heart-wrenching personal experiences with cardiac arrest and heart disease with lawmakers. The campaign also has featured print, digital and social media advertising in Washington, D.C. and across the country to elevate the voices of cardiac arrest survivors and families who have lost a loved one to cardiac arrest.
"We look forward to working with the new Congress and administration to ensure the HEARTS Act is fully funded and the law is successfully implemented," Brown said. "Our efforts continue to pass policies at the state level to require schools to develop cardiac emergency response plans and ensure they have the resources to do so. Securing funding for these policies will protect more lives and create safer environments for students, staff and school visitors across the country."
