Are schools prepared to respond to students with cardiac arrest?

Published March 27, 2024 at 7:25 AM CDT

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An AED is a device that sends a shock to the heart of someone going through a sudden cardiac arrest to try and revive a heartbeat. It can be life saving. (Alex Li/Side Effects Public Media)

When a person suffers sudden cardiac arrest, an AED, automated external defibrillator, can save their life. More than 7,000 people under the age of 18 experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year but many states don’t require AEDs in schools.

Elizabeth Gabriel of Side Effects Public Media reports.

This reporting is supported by a grant from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2023 Data Fellowship.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.