East Cooper Regional Medical Center and the MUSC Heart and Vascular Center will present six automatic external defibrillators (AED) to the Town of Mount Pleasant.

The device is used to restart the heart of people who have had a sudden cardiac arrest. These victims’ best hope is having their hearts restarted within four minutes of being stricken.

The devised will be placed in first response vehicles operated by the Town of Mount Pleasant, and the vehicles can be radio dispatched and may reach a cardiac arrest victim before an ambulance arrives.

"I would like to thank both East Cooper Regional Medical Center and the MUSC Heart and Vascular Center for their generous donations and community involvement," said Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry M. Hallman Jr.

"Our AED project is dear to our hearts and represents a way to combat a leading killer in the field by getting our patients to medical facilities where they can receive proper care. We are very proud of the relationship with East Cooper Regional Medical Center and MUSC and are grateful for their support. These defibrillators will greatly build on our expanding donor-driven program," said Mayor Hallman.

While exact statistics on the number of cardiac arrests aren’t available, about 250,000 people die each year from cardiac related problems without being hospitalized. That’s more than 680 Americans each day. According to the American Heart Association, most of these deaths are caused by cardiac arrest.

It can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime, although some medical conditions can increase a person’s risk of suffering cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest is usually caused by a malfunction of the heart called ventricular fibrillation, an ineffective quivering of the heart muscle that makes it unable to pump blood through the body. Once the blood stops circulating, a person quickly loses consciousness and the ability to breathe.

"The staff and physicians at East Cooper Regional Medical Center are committed to the safety and well being of our community," said Andrea Wozniak, chief executive officer. "We are proud to present the Town of Mount Pleasant with this potentially life-saving equipment. The addition of the AEDs will help our first responders continue to provide the quality care that our community members deserve."

Unlike the models of defibrillators that healthcare professionals use, the AEDs don’t require extensive medical knowledge to understand or to operate. The AEDs have an onboard computer that analyzes the heart’s electrical function so that non-medical professionals are able to respond to cardiac emergencies.