Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation: Empowering Hearts to Save Lives
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation (SCAF) is a national 501(c)(3) organization. Our vision is to eliminate preventable death and disability from sudden cardiac arrest and support people affected by SCA. Our mission is to raise awareness of SCA and promote initiatives that help save lives through education, research, and community. Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is the home of the Cardiac Arrest Survivor Alliance and a proud co-sponsor of the Call-Push-Shock movement.
This February, in recognition of American Heart Month, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation led the #EmpoweringHeartsToSaveLives awareness campaign, challenging the public to learn the facts about SCA, and empower themselves and others with the knowledge to intervene in the case of sudden cardiac arrest. With 70% of out-of-hospital SCAs occurring in the home, chances are, rescuers could be saving the life of someone they love.
To get involved with the campaign, participants were invited to:
- Share facts posted on the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation’s social media accounts
- Participate in the photo/selfie challenge and share how they are Empowering Hearts to Save Lives by downloading the campaign printable sign (special thanks to the Rescue Stat team for their amazing participation in this project!)
- View videos from sudden cardiac arrest survivors sharing their stories, and why it is critical to learn CPR and how to use an AED
- Test their knowledge by taking the interactive online quiz
Additionally, several SCAF representatives had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion during a special Heart Month webinar hosted by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Reducing Risk & Ensuring Best Care in Sport & Life.
We were so pleased with the impact the campaign had last month! Our hope is that people were inspired to learn more and empowered to take action to help save lives.
Even though February is over, raising awareness never stops! SCAF works hard each day, alongside our partners, constituents and advocate community, to reach as many people as possible with information, tools, resources, research developments and more. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming activities during National CPR/AED Week (first week of June) and Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month (October).
This year, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is also celebrating our 20th anniversary. In honor of this milestone, SCAF has created a resource “20 Ways to Support and Engage,” which details 20 different opportunities for supporters, advocates, professionals, SCA survivors and their loved ones, to support the SCA Foundation and its work in a variety of meaningful ways. To learn more, view the resource. We welcome anyone interested in getting involved with raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrest to reach out to us to explore opportunities to lend your passion and skills to our work.
Please visit sca-aware.org to learn more about SCAF’s programs and resources, and to sign up for our electronic newsletter.