Oro Valley Police Department Now Equipped with Lifesaving Defibrillators

NEWTOWN, Pa. - July 2, 2015 - PRLog -- The Oro Valley Police Department and over 41,000 citizens of Oro Valley, Arizona are now heart safe after the police department received a donation of 12 HeartSine® Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to protect the city’s citizens in the event of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA).

The AEDs were donated by the Steven M. Gootter Foundation, an Arizona-based organization dedicated to saving lives by defeating sudden cardiac death through increased awareness, education, and scientific research.

“Though SCA is the leading cause of natural death in the United States, most people are unaware of the danger it poses until it strikes close to home”, says Andrew Messing, President of the Steven M. Gootter Foundation. “Each year in the United States, more than 335,000 lives are lost to heart disease, many of which could have been saved if an AED had been present.”

During an SCA, the HeartSine samaritan® PAD 350P AED analyzes the heart rhythm and, if needed, delivers an electrical shock to victims in order to restore the heart to normal rhythm. It is designed especially for use in public areas inside a lightweight and easy-to-operate system.

“The Oro Valley Police Department is so grateful for this generous donation and we love that the HeartSine AEDs are so portable and easy-to-use,” says Daniel Sharp, Chief of Police at the Oro Valley Police Department. “Oro Valley is now a safer place thanks to these defibrillators and organizations like the Steven M. Gootter Foundation.”

With 84 percent of Sudden Cardiac Arrest events taking place outside of the healthcare setting, including at public parks, schools, and during sporting games, it is important to have an AED nearby in the event of a SCA emergency.

The HeartSine AEDs will be stored in rigid watertight carrying cases and kept in the police officers’ SUV cars in case of a cardiac emergency.

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Sudden Cardiac Arrest happens to people of all ages, including children. It is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, causing blood to stop flowing to the brain and other vital organs. SCA usually causes death if it's not treated within minutes. CPR alone will not restart the heart, so the American Heart Association and ERC recommend CPR combined with early defibrillation (within three to five minutes) for the best outcome.

SCA claims more than seven million lives annually. It occurs abruptly and without warning, with 84 percent of SCA events occurring outside of the healthcare setting.

About HeartSine Technologies

HeartSine Technologies, a world leader in personal and public access defibrillators, advances the deployment of life-saving defibrillation therapy for the treatment of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in non-traditional areas of care.

Designed for use in public areas, the company’s entire line of Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) products leverages its proprietary, clinically advanced SCOPE technology to optimize the administration of life-saving treatment.

The company’s flagship product line, the HeartSine samaritan PAD (Public Access Defibrillator), is IP56 rated for durability and exceptional reliability to meet the unique environmental demands of public use. Its industry-leading warranty and innovative battery/electrode Pad-Pak combine to give the samaritan PAD defibrillators the lowest total cost of ownership. HeartSine is active in over 70 countries worldwide in a wide range of environments, including commercial aircraft, military and shipping facilities, manufacturing plants, offices, schools and sports clubs.

HeartSine is based in Newtown, Pennsylvania and Belfast, Northern Ireland. To learn how a HeartSine AED can save lives, please visit www.heartsine.com and follow HeartSine on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Steven M. Gootter Foundation

The Steven M. Gootter Foundation is dedicated to saving lives by defeating sudden cardiac death through increased awareness, education, scientific research and the distribution of AEDs.

Since July 2009, the Gootter Foundation has distributed over 180 AEDs to schools, places of worship, recreational centers and public places throughout southern Arizona. For more information on the Steven M. Gootter Foundation, please visit: www.gootter.org.