The U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee today is considering the Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act, which would help ensure students and school staff are prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency.
The American Heart Association, the world's leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health that is celebrating its centennial birthday this year, is urging the committee to move this bipartisan, lifesaving legislation forward. The Association is also mobilizing advocates in its You're the Cure national grassroots network in support of the HEARTS Act. The personal testimonies of some of those advocates are below:
"Thanks to a teacher's CPR training, the school's medical emergency response plan and the quick use of an AED, my daughter Olivia survived a cardiac arrest at the age of 6," said Joe Quigley of Winthrop, Mass. "Every family deserves the chance for a positive outcome like ours, which is why I'm pushing Congress to pass the HEARTS Act and guarantee that CPR training and access to AEDs are widely available in every community."
"For my 13-year-old son Monty, what could have likely been a non-life-threatening cardiac event turned fatal. While there was an AED onsite at his game, no one retrieved it or started CPR," said Stephanie Rouse of Grovetown, Ga. "I'm advocating for public policies like the HEARTS Act that would help schools outline clear procedures for responding to cardiac arrest incidents and ensure that school staff are trained to administer lifesaving interventions promptly."
"When my son Bailey suffered a cardiac arrest at the age of 16 after a track and field event, it took more than 8 minutes before someone got the AED which had been locked inside the school," said Patrice Bullock of Bel Air, Md. "We lost our vibrant and talented child because there was no plan in place. The HEARTS Act would help ensure that students, staff and visitors at schools know what to do in the event of a cardiac emergency and that other families aren't faced with the same loss as me."
"I've been an athlete my entire life and in college, I experienced a cardiac event on the field at a University of Houston football game," said Miss Space City Chloe Burke of Houston, Texas. "I've come to realize that I went through this traumatic life event so that I can help make a difference for others in similar situations. As a former elementary school teacher, I know how important the HEARTS Act will be to help schools prepare for a cardiac emergency."
