February is American Heart Month, and in Missouri, one survivor is using her story to urge people to learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and get regular heart checkups.
Kim Edmonds was born with a heart murmur, had open-heart surgery at 40, and thought the worst was behind her – until she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest just months later.
She said she's now clearing up common misconceptions about the difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack.
"A heart attack is a plumbing issue, basically your arteries are blocked," said Edmonds. "A sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical issue, so it's like someone walked into a room and shuts the lights off. I had the sudden cardiac arrest, where basically, my heart just stopped beating. I did have two people there who started CPR right away."
Edmonds went on to survive a second cardiac arrest and now lives with a defibrillator – a device that shocks the heart back into rhythm during a cardiac emergency. She said her experience taught her that quick action can mean the difference between life and death.
Health leaders say stories like Edmonds’ show why learning CPR and getting regular checkups matter – especially since many cardiac arrests happen at home.
Jennifer Jaeger, executive director of the American Heart Association in St. Louis, said more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen every year outside the hospital – and 9 out of 10 people who experience one don't survive.
"The Heart Association is working to actually double that survival rate, by the year 2030," said Jaeger, "and so we want to create a nation of lifesavers, and so we want every household in America to have one person who knows the lifesaving skills of CPR."
The American Heart Association is encouraging Missourians to join the Nation of Lifesavers by learning CPR and keeping up with regular heart checkups. Advocates say immediate CPR can double or even triple a person’s chance of survival.
The Missouri Public News Service originally published this story.
