The Reviving Hearts Program

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the US with a death occurring every two minutes or over 650 SCA-related deaths each day. SCA occurs abruptly and without warning and two-thirds of SCA deaths occur in people without any prior indications of heart disease.

To have a chance of surviving, victims of SCA must receive a life-saving defibrillation within the first 4- 6 minutes when brain damage and death starts to occur. Automated Electronic Defibrillators (AEDs ) can increase the survival rate for SCA up to 90% by delivering a shock within the first few minutes of an attack.

• Click here to donate - help CREFI reach their goal of placing 100 AEDs in local high schools in 2008!

Ask any family member or parent whose loved one or child has died from SCA and they will say three letters might have saved their loved one’s life…AED.

This year the annual Dining A La Heart Fundraiser Event will benefit The Reviving Hearts Program, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation of Indiana, Inc. (CREFI).

For the next five years CREFI will be focusing on placing AED’s in high schools throughout central Indiana where hundreds of lives could be saved. For every $2000 they raise, one AED with training and follow-up procedures can be placed in a local high school. Their goal is to place 100 AEDs during 2008.

Click here for an application form for your school!

The Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation of Indiana, Inc. (CREFI)

The mission of CREFI is to think beyond the ordinary and advance the field of cardiology through innovative programs in three vital areas: patient care, education and research. CREFI believes that the placement of AED’s in schools fits their mission and recognizes that the availability of AEDs and trained staff is the first line of patient care for someone experiencing a SCA.