Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. announced recently that the New York State Senate passed legislation he co-sponsored that would require certain public schools to have at least one cardiac automated external defibrillator (AED) on school grounds. The measure would also require that a staff member be trained to use the life saving apparatus.

According to Fuschillo, this legislation was introduced in response to occurrences in schools where students have experienced cardiac arrest such as Louis Acompara, a 14-year-old Northport High School student-athlete who died during a school lacrosse game in 2000.

Sudden cardiac arrest is generally caused by an electrical malfunction of the heart called a ventricle fibrillation. Defibrillators reverse this process by applying an electric pulse to the heart, allowing a normal heart rhythm to resume. The administration of a defibrillator is most successful when used within the first few minutes following sudden cardiac arrest. The likelihood of successful resuscitation decreases by approximately 10 percent with each minute following the onset of cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association estimates that as many as 100,000 deaths could be prevented each year through the wide spread use of a defibrillators.

"During a life threatening emergency, every second counts and it has been proven that immediate access to a defibrillator is crucial to saving a life," Fuschillo said. "Defibrillators on school grounds can give parents, staff and students added security in case of an unexpected emergency."

"While such serious cardiac problems may seem rare in young people, the strenuous activities involved in school sports may trigger an unexpected problem that would require immediate access and use of a defibrillator to save a life," said Howard Callman, chairman, Legislative Committee of the New York State Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association.