Defibtech Celebrates National Athletic Training Month

March 29, 2022

March marks National Athletic Training Month. Defibtech would like to sincerely thank the Athletic Trainers working each and every day to help keep our student-athletes safe from catastrophic injuries including sudden cardiac arrest.

We are a proud Corporate Sponsor of The Korey Stringer Institute which is working tirelessly to ensure secondary school athletes can play sports and stay safe. The mission of the Korey Stringer Institute is to provide research, education, advocacy and consultation to maximize performance, optimize safety and prevent sudden death for the athlete, warfighter and laborer.

They have 3 programs that focus directly on improving athletic trainer services throughout the United States.

Their innovATe program stands for improving needed nationwide opportunities & value of athletic trainer employment. The goal of the innovATe program is to increase athletic training services in secondary schools. This project supports 10-14 school districts currently without athletic training services to enhance healthcare for student-athletes.

Their TuFFS program stands for team up for sports safety. This program was established to drive changes and adoption of policies proven to reduce catastrophic sport injury in the secondary school level. To accomplish this goal, KSI and the TUFSS initiative will travel state-to-state to meet with policymakers to facilitate adoption of life-saving policies nationwide. The TUFSS project identifies and brings together the key individuals responsible for improving health and safety policies for high school athletes within a particular state.

Finally, their ATLAS program stands for The Athletic Training Locations and Services Project. It was designed to track access to AT services, improve communication between athletic trainers and produce research for the advancement of the profession of Athletic Training in the secondary school setting. The project has created a real-time database with visualizations that map the level and type of AT services in secondary schools.

It is crucial Athletic Trainers are on site with the proper equipment and an emergency action plan at sporting events to help ensure that when sudden cardiac arrest strikes, student-athletes have the highest chance of survival.

According to Parent Heart Watch, sudden cardiac arrest is not rare. It takes the lives of 365,000 people annually. It affects people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and genders. Sudden cardiac arrest is the number one killer of student athletes and the leading cause of death on school campuses. Up to 23,000 youth are stricken annually by sudden cardiac arrest and more than 90% of sudden cardiac arrest victims die.

But, what causes sudden cardiac arrest in athletes? They’re young and in great shape. How can they possibly have something wrong with their heart?

Often times, when a young person suffers sudden cardiac arrest, it is because of an undetected heart condition. Approximately one in three hundred youth have an undetected heart condition that can put them at risk. Some of those heart conditions include:

• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
• Long QT Syndrome
• Coronary Artery Anomalies
• Idiopathic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy
• Wolff-Parkinson-White

Here are some reasons you should get your child’s heart tested:

• Fainting or seizure
• Chest pain or discomfort during or after exertion
• Racing heartbeat
• Unusual shortness of breath
• Dizziness or lightheadedness during or after physical activity
• Unusual fatigue or tiredness
• Family history of heart disease
• Family history of unexpected death
• Unexplained death of family member under the age of 50

So, what do you do if you witness someone go into sudden cardiac arrest? How do you help them? If you suspect someone is suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, take the following steps:

• Call 9-1-1
• Immediately start performing CPR (100-120 chest compressions per minute)
• Use an AED as soon as possible.

It is very important to act immediately if someone is suffering sudden cardiac arrest. Every second that goes by without treatment hurts the person’s chances of survival.

To learn more about Defibtech and to join us on our quest to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest, visit www.Defibtech.com.

Sources:
https://parentheartwatch.org/resources/what-is-sca/
https://parentheartwatch.org/resources/sca-prevention/warning-signs-risk-factors/
https://ksi.uconn.edu/