Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation A California Public Benefit Corporation

The Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation is visualizing initiatives to standardize prevention of sca in youth in the pediatrician's office, on the field and in the classroom. Leveraging the robust collaborations we've created with stakeholders and tenure we've earned in thought leadership, our sca intervention programs model how to drive comprehensive systemic change in sca health literacy and primary and secondary prevention practices. We are developing heart safe sports communities with our keep their heart in the game sca prevention courses; providing free accredited medical training through prescription for prevention: cardiac risk assessment in primary care; educating the next generation of life-savers with free smart hearts don't miss A beat curriculum; and evolving prevention policy by sponsoring state laws that advocate for change in the standard of care.

Save A heart Save A Life aed program places automated external defibrillators (aeds) and advocates for the implementation of cardiac emergency response plans anywhere youth congregate. Aeds are the only way to restart the heart of an sca victim, but are not mandated in all schools and youth centers. Every minute's delay in emergency response decreases the chance of survival by 10%, which is why 92% of sca victims die. It's critical for school communities to be as well-practiced in executing the cardiac chain of survival as they are in fire drills.

Screen your teen provides free heart screenings to youth ages 12 to 25 to identify cardiac abnormalities that put 1 in 300 at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (sca). Heart screenings are not part of well-child checkups or pre-participation sports physicals, even though sca is the #1 killer of student athletes and the leading cause of death on school campuses. Screenings include A cardiac risk assessment, ekg (electrocardiogram), echocardiogram and consultation with A cardiologist. We have screened nearly 40,000 youth since 2010, which have found over 600 youth with previously unidentified cardiac abnormalities.

Sca awareness initiatives include providing free resources, education and advocacy to parents, educators, coaches, counselors and the medical community and evolving prevention protocol and policy. Our landmark sca prevention California legislation in 2016 inspired sca prevention resources to be included in California department of education 2019 revision of the health education framework and the introduction of A new legislation extending sca prevention protocol to community youth sports programs. A new sca prevention training module for pediatric primary care practitioners is now in development.