Ninety percent of the 350,000 people who will suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest this year will not survive. Of them, 7,000 will be under the age of 18.

“These victims will not even make it to the emergency room to have a fighting chance at life,” Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said Wednesday via a livestream to introduce the Access to AEDs Act in Washington, D.C. “This can be changed. This legislation is an important step on the journey to make that a reality.”

When viewers saw Buffalo Bills safety and McKees Rocks native Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest Jan. 2 during a “Monday Night Football” game in Cincinnati, they also saw the first links in the chain of survival working.

Survival outcomes more than double when a bystander uses a publicly available AED. Hamlin knows a quick response time saved his life and said every child should have access to the lifesaving emergency response he did.

Making sure that becomes reality is why U.S. Rep. Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida) and Rep. Bill Posey (R-Florida) introduced the bill.

“As a mom and member of Congress, I’m on a mission to expand lifesaving health care tools to school-aged children across the country by equipping elementary and secondary schools with AEDs and routine Cardiac Emergency Response training,” Cherfilus-McCormick said.

The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to elementary and secondary schools for purchasing and maintaining AEDs, replacing outdated equipment and providing education. Schools should also develop a cardiac emergency response plan and heart screening programs.

“Everything happened like it should in a cardiac emergency,” Brown said of Hamlin’s situation. “Early recognition. Calling 911. First responders administering high-quality CPR. Access to and using a defibrillator. All of these things happening beautifully are the reason that the wonderful and amazing Damar Hamlin is here with us today.”

Sudden cardiac arrest is a life-threatening emergency caused by a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system or structure, caused by an abnormality from birth or one that develops over time.

Attending the announcement of the bill was Hamlin, along with his parents, Nina and Mario. Hamlin is focused on the development, health and safety of youth through his charity The Chasing M’s Foundation Charitable Fund.

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