[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 8, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4650-S4651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         JOSH MILLER HEARTS ACT

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, half of heart-related deaths in the 
United States are caused by a hard-to-diagnose condition called sudden 
cardiac arrest, SCA. Different from a heart attack, SCAs are caused by 
an electrical problem in the heart that, once triggered, requires 
immediate treatment: survival rates plummet 7 to 10 percent with every 
minute that passes. Each year, only 8 percent of the 295,000 people who 
suffer an SCA outside of a hospital survive. A few years ago, June 1-
June 7 was designated as CPR/AED Awareness Week to share these 
startling statistics and to begin to change them. By educating and 
encouraging communities to establish organized programs that could 
provide CPR and AED training to the public, lives have already been 
saved. Anyone can suffer a sudden cardiac arrest, no matter one's age 
or gender. In fact, many victims appear healthy, not having a known 
heart disease or any other risk factors. For example, student athletes 
with no previous heart ailments

[[Page S4651]]

have been stricken with SCA in the middle of practice or during games.
  Josh Miller was one such student athlete. The act that bears his 
name--the Josh Miller HEARTS, Helping Everyone Access Responsible 
Treatment in Schools, Act--creates a grant program through the 
Department of Education for public and private schools to purchase 
automated external defibrillators, AEDs, and to train staff in the use 
of CPR and defibrillation within the context of a coordinated emergency 
response plan. Josh was a 15-year-old high school honor student from 
Barberton, OH, who suffered sudden cardiac arrest during a high school 
football game. Though Josh had never previously demonstrated symptoms 
of a heart problem, he passed away before paramedics arrived at the 
scene. There were no AEDs on site that might have been used to save 
Josh's life.
  The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Josh Miller HEARTS Act 
on June 2, 2009, and Senator George Voinovich and I introduced the bill 
in the Senate on June 8, 2009. Currently, the legislation has seven 
cosponsors and is pending before the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  The combination of early, immediate CPR and defibrillation helps 
restore normal heart rhythm before emergency personnel arrive and 
increases a victim's chances of survival. Tragically, lives are lost 
every day because there are not enough AEDs and persons trained in 
using the devices and performing CPR to provide this life-saving 
treatment. On average, response times for emergency medical teams run 
approximately 6 to 12 minutes. Yet according to the American Heart 
Association, the chance of survival of sudden cardiac arrest decreases 
by 7 to 10 percent with every passing minute.
  In order to have a strong emergency response system, communities need 
the resources to help save lives. I encourage my colleagues to follow 
the House's lead and take up and pass the Josh Miller HEART Act as soon 
as possible.

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