Interview of Gary Buscombe, a sudden cardiac death survivor.    Boy Scouts AED save life in meeting in Tulsa, OK

He was attending a Boy Scouts Meeting, meeting collapsed, and his life was saved as a result of the Boy Scouts  having

an AED on site.

TULSA, OK — Tulsa Boy Scouts live their motto, helping to save the life of one of their own.
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Assistant Scout Master Gary Buscombe’s heart stopped at a recent scout meeting. That’s when his Troop 26 family jumped into action. Other scout leaders performed CPR on Buscombe and used a defibrillator to restart his heart.

EMSA paramedics say the men’s emergency training and fast action saved Buscombe’s life.

“When you see someone go down and you know that you have to use first aid skills, CPR skills, Boy Scout motto is to be prepared. Mottos don’t mean anything unless you have the skills to back them up,” said Gerald Bradley, Troop 26 Scout Leader.

Troop 26 honored Buscombe at Monday night’s scout meeting with a special lesson on CPR.

Gary later went  out and raised money for a Cardiac Science AED to be donated to his local Elks club.

Gary was visiting the central coast this weekend for a Pi Kappa Tau Fraternity reunion. Several of the fraternity brothers learned how to do “hands only CPR”. Patient Advocate loaned the Fraternity a live Cardiac Science AED for their event at the Mission Inn in Pismo Beach this weekend.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY ABOUT GARY BUSCOMBE

This is just another example of why AED’s need to be placed throughout the community… just like fire extinguishers.

Congratulations to the Pismo Beach California Parking Enforcement staff for taking a Safety First Seminars AHA Heartsaver CPR class and learning how to use an AED.
They will have a Cardiac Science AED to use for the 4th of July weekend.
Pismo Beach continues to strive to be a Heart Healthy and Heart Safe City. All of the police cars have AED’s in them. Pismo Beach Police Officers have saved lives as a result of having AED’s in their police cars.

See the YouTube video of them learning CPR.
Safety First Seminars CPR Class in Pismo Beach, CA

Pat tells his story in his book, “A Second Chance.” Three years ago he was a passenger on a plane when he began feeling sweaty and clammy.
The EMT and nurse started CPR until flight attendants could get the defibrillator that shocked pat’s heart back into its rhythm.
Metro Man Shares Remarkable Story Of Recovery After Cardiac Arrest

Read the Story and see the Video

Michael Jackson’s family said he suffered cardiac arrest. There are many possible causes of that including a heart attack, other heart abnormalities or drug use. Sudden cardiac arrest also took the life of a pilot in flight just last week. An Overland Park man’s story is similar, only he survived.

Continental Airlines pilot Craig Lenell died in the cockpit over the Atlantic. Pat Emmett heard the news.

“I keep thinking gee whiz, if they’d just done everything they did for me where everything worked right, would he be with us today?” Pat said.

Pat tells his story in his book, “A Second Chance.” Three years ago he was a passenger on a plane when he began feeling sweaty and clammy.

“I just collapsed and died on the spot and I was gone about five minutes I bet,” he said.

Pat said he would have been gone forever except an EMT and a nurse were sitting nearby.

They recognized Pat had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. In his case, it was caused by a heart attack, although there are many other causes.

The EMT and nurse started CPR until flight attendants could get the defibrillator that shocked pat’s heart back into its rhythm.

“Somebody was watching over Pat. There’s no question about it. That is the exception.” Dr. Martin Emert at the University of Kansas Hospital said.

Dr. Emert said 95 percent of people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest die.

“We can probably prevent 50 percent of the sudden cardiac death out there and we’re not doing that” Dr. Emert said.

Pat didn’t even need to have a defibrillator implanted. But many others who’ve had sudden cardiac arrest do so if it happens again, the heart can automatically be shocked back to a normal rhythm.

And Dr. Emert said anyone who’s had heart trouble should talk with their doctor about whether they’re at high risk for cardiac arrest and might need an implant. But the doctor and Pat said because it can happen to anyone, everyone should know CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

“I have a feeling I was sent back for other purposes, which is probably to help save lives while I’m here,” Pat said.

Pat has also started the Heart of America Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association.

Copyright © 2009, WDAF-TV

911 Dispatch log of Emergency call for Michael Jackson.
This recording is interesting to those of us who teach CPR and AED Use. It once again reminds us that EVERYONE should be trained in CPR and AED use. A few hours of your time to learn CPR could save the life of someone you care about or a stranger.
So what can improve the chances of a happy ending?
After Cardiac Arrest getting a patient hooked up to an AED within 3 to 5 minutes, can increase their survival rate.
Every minute that passes without a shock to the heart reduces the survival rate by up to 10 percent.
You need to learn CPR ASAP. If you have not had a class recently, attend a CPR class to get your skills updated.
This Michael Jackson tradegy can help raise awareness for CPR and AED Training.
More Info about what TMZ says happed to Michael Jackson.

Listen to the dispatch call

WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association said Thursday that pop singer Michael Jackson’s death at the age of 50 underscores the tragedy of sudden cardiac arrest, which kills nearly 300,000 Americans each year and is the nation’s leading cause of death.

“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the result of an electrical disruption of the heart and is different than a heart attack. It can strike seemingly healthy individuals without warning, including those with no known history of heart disease. SCA kills an American once every two minutes and can happen virtually anytime and anywhere. Nearly 80 percent of all sudden cardiac arrests occur in the home, like in Mr. Jackson’s case. Even though Mr. Jackson’s collapse was apparently witnessed, emergency medical services responded promptly and Mr. Jackson’s home was near UCLA Medical Center, it was still not sufficient to revive Mr. Jackson because SCA victims usually need immediate CPR and the shock of an automated external defibrillator (AED) if they are to have any chance of survival. Today’s news should be a reminder that CPR is a basic life-saving skill that everyone should know, and that AEDs should be widely deployed to enhance the chance of survival.”
More info from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association