Ask Congress to fund the HEARTS Act 📧
More than 350,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year. Unfortunately, only 10% of people survive this traumatic event. If someone nearby starts CPR and uses an available automated external defibrillator (AED) they can double or triple the chances of survival. More than 23,000 people who suffer a cardiac arrest each year are children; and it’s the leading cause of death for student athletes.
Congress unanimously passed the bipartisan HEARTS Act at the end of 2024, a law that could help to save lives from cardiac arrest in schools. The HEARTS Act authorizes the creation of a new grant program that would help prepare schools across the country to respond to a cardiac emergency by providing resources to purchase and maintain AEDs, train school staff and volunteers on CPR and make sure they have a plan for what to do in a cardiac emergency. Authorizing the creation of this lifesaving program was a critical first step. Now Congress needs to fund it!