[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H2929-H2930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CARDIAC ARREST SURVIVAL ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Pryce of Ohio). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 21, 1997, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. 
Stearns] is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, I am here to talk about a bill that I 
will be introducing today. The bill I am referring to is the Cardiac 
Arrest Survival Act. If this bill should become law, I say to my 
colleagues, it has the potential of saving thousands of lives each 
year.
  I am pleased to have this opportunity to work with the American Heart 
Association on this important measure. Passage of this act would go a 
long way toward making the goal of saving the lives of people who 
suffer from sudden cardiac arrest possible. It would ensure that what 
the American Heart Association refers to as a cardiac chain of survival 
could go into effect.
  Madam Speaker, the four links in a cardiac chain of survival are, 
one, early access to emergency care; early cardiopulmonary 
resuscitation; early defibrillation, which I will explain later; and 
early advanced life support.
  While defibrillation is the most effective mechanism to revive a 
heart that has stopped, it is also the least accessed tool we have 
available to treat victims suffering from heart failure.
  Perhaps it would be helpful for those of my colleagues listening and 
not well versed on the subject if I just take a moment and walk you 
through what we mean when we use the term ``defibrillation.''
  A large number of sudden cardiac arrests are due to an electrical 
malfunction of the heart called ventricular fibrillation, or VF. When 
VF occurs, the heart's electrical signals, which normally induce a 
coordinated heartbeat, suddenly become chaotic and the heart's function 
as a pump abruptly stops. Unless this state is reversed, then death 
will occur within a few minutes, 160 seconds. The only effective 
treatment for this condition is defibrillation, the electrical shock to 
the heart.
  My colleagues might be interested to know that more than 1,000 
Americans each and every day suffer from cardiac arrest. Of those, more 
than 95 percent die. My colleagues, I find that unacceptable, because 
we have the means at our disposal to change those statistics, and that 
is why I am committed myself to this cause.
  Studies show that 250 lives can be saved each and every day from 
cardiac arrest by using the automatic external defibrillator [AED]. 
Those are the kinds of statistics that nobody can argue with. Right 
now, the chance of survival due to sudden cardiac arrest is less than 1 
in 10. We could change those odds for people through the development of 
model state training programs for first responders.
  Madam Speaker, did my colleagues know that for each minute of delay 
in returning the heart to its normal pattern of beating it decreases 
the chance of that person's survival by 10 percent? Currently, only 14 
States offer CPR training in schools and 28 States authorize first 
responders to use automatic external defibrillators. However, less than 
one-half of emergency medical technicians and less than one-fourth of 
nonemergency medical technician first responders in the United States 
are even trained or equipped with a defibrillator. Fortunately, one of 
those States is my State of Florida.
  No one knows when sudden cardiac arrest might occur. According to a 
recent study the top five sites where cardiac arrest occurs, and I will 
list them in order of prevalence, at airports, county jails, shopping 
malls, sports stadiums, and golf courses.
  I believe we all should take great comfort in knowing that those who 
are rushed to help us, to resuscitate us, have the most up-to-date 
equipment available and are trained to use it.
  Some of my colleagues might ask, if 27 States have laws authorizing 
nonemergency medical technician first responders to use AED's, why do 
we need to pass this legislation? The reason is quite simply that 
prehospital medical care, which includes training, equipment, and 
standards of care, experiences variations from State to State, which in 
turn delivers inconsistent care to the public. Some might say that this 
is just another Federal mandate. They would be wrong in that 
assumption.
  This legislation merely directs the National Heart, Lung and Blood 
Institute to develop and disseminate a model State training program for 
first responders and bystandards in lifesaving first aid, including 
CPR, and direct the development of model State legislation to ensure 
access to emergency medical service.
  Several of my colleagues might ask, will this not cost a lot of 
money? No, it will not cost the Government any money because we would 
encourage the private sector, such as those working in the medical 
community, to form a partnership with industry to help defray the 
costs. Overall, we envision this

[[Page H2930]]

as a joint venture, with this legislation providing the model program 
for States to use if they so desire and the private sector picking up 
the additional costs involved.
  Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring this 
important bill whose stated goal is to prevent thousands of people 
suffering sudden cardiac arrest from dying by making the equipment and 
trained personnel available at the scene of such emergencies.

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