Back to School - Is your school prepared for SCA?

Is your school prepared if Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) strikes a student, staff member or visitor?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is one of the leading causes of death in North America killing 300,000 people each year in the U.S. alone. While SCA is more prevalent in adults, children are also victims of SCA. Even schools for young children have many adults present every day and schools serve as central gathering point within the community.

A recent study of first responders and physicians staffing school sporting events identified 21 episodes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in athletes of all ages. There are a significant number of young athletes, just like Zachary Schrah who have an undetected, or possibly an underlying heart disease that predisposes them to SCA.


Schools with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) have better cardiac survival rates, and the good news is a SCA is survivable. This important fact is true for both students and non-students who may experience sudden cardiac arrest at a school event.



Implementing an SCA program at your school isn’t hard, but it will take some work. The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation has some great information about some successful school programs, check out Building a Heart-Safe School, you will find some very helpful information. You’ll also find helpful ideas and checklists throughout this website. We have the power and the moral responsibility – to protect the lives of our students, our faculty members, our staff and our visitors. With simple preparation, we can save a life at school.

Why wait for a tragedy? Implement an SCA program at your school now. You may just save a life—and better yet, by teaching students lifesaving skills, you’ll help build a generation of citizens who are ready, willing and able to help whenever SCA strikes. At Living 4 Zachary we want to work together to eliminate preventable deaths from SCA, which continue to occur all too often.