A nationwide gathering of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survivors will mark SCA Awareness Month with a Survivor Celebration on Friday, October 9th at 7 p.m. in Chicago. This survivor event, hosted by the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue in Rosemont, is part of three-day program that will make up the organization’s annual meeting.
A sudden cardiac arrest is a sudden, abrupt loss of heart function and can impact individuals at any age and even those individuals who otherwise appear to be healthy. SCA, which kills nearly 300,000 Americans each year – more than lung cancer, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS combined – has a survival rate of less than 8 percent. Of that small percentage who do survive, nearly all do so because they received the immediate response of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the shock (or shocks) of an automated external defibrillator (AED) or an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to restore the heart’s natural rhythm.
Survivors from across the country representing at least 20 states will join local survivors for this inspirational event. The group will include three individuals who experienced SCA while boarding flights at Chicago O’Hare Airport, a promising young athlete who experienced SCA a week before high school graduation, a comedic actress who experienced SCA on stage during a live performance, several sports officials who collapsed while refereeing a game, and a breast cancer survivor who experienced SCA and was saved by her dog getting help, among others.