Contact Information
5490 Progress Blvd.
Bethel Park, PA 15102
Fax: 412-831-3038
email: tcsems@tcsems.org
Emergency Numbers
412.833.2000 or 911
South Park Police
Dial 911
Upper St. Clair Police
412.833.7500 or 911
Sudden Cardiac Arrest
In the first three months of 2010, three residents of Tri-Community South's service area survived the effects of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA.)
In both of those instances, quick action by bystanders meant the difference between life and death. First, someone called 911 quickly. Then, bystanders started CPR and continued until the police arrived and shocked the patient's heart with an AED. Next, Tri-Community South EMS arrived and employed a combination of advanced life support techniques, one in which included cooling the patient's body well below normal body temperatures.
Induced hypothermia can be started by EMS personnel at the emergency scene by giving an intravenous saline solution that has been cooled to around 4 degrees Centigrade, or 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooling process can be continued by hospital personnel when the victim is transferred to the emergency department, and can be maintained for the first 48 hours following the cardiac arrest.
Tri-Community South EMS began implementing induced hypothermia in cardiac arrest patients in the Spring of 2009.
The South Park Township Board of Supervisors recognized the bystanders and police from the resuscitations in that community at their April meeting, and the Bethel Park Council is doing likewise at their May meeting.
These events reunite the bystanders, rescuers and the SCA survivors. Tri-Community South EMS and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) present rescuer awards to the bystanders and survivor awards to the SCA Survivors.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition that occurs when the heart, with little or no warning, suddenly stops pumping blood.
This may happen because of a heart attack or coronary artery disease, or even in an otherwise healthy heart that experiences a disruption to its electrical conduction system. It can happen to anyone of any age group and of any physical condition.
According to statistics from the American Heart Association, cardiac arrest occurs every 90 seconds in the United States, and while survival rates for victims of cardiac arrest remain low, there are some proven actions that can increase survivability.
The most important intervention in cardiac arrest care continues to be the early application of CPR, especially the use of effective chest compressions. Clinical evidence shows that continuous chest compressions increase not only the survival rate of victims, but also the quality of the survivor's life after resuscitation.
Since the medical problem in many sudden cardiac arrest cases is disruption of the electrical activity in the heart, the second important intervention is the early use of the Automated External Defibrillator, or AED. This allows anyone to apply electrical energy to the heart that can help reorganize the heart rhythm and restore normal blood flow.
All police officers in Bethel Park, South Park and Upper St. Clair have been trained in the use of the AED, and the police vehicles in these communities have been equipped with AEDs since 1991. Police officers often arrive first at the scene of EMS calls, and this training and equipment allows them to provide immediate life-saving care.
Recently, along with these proven interventions, a relatively new procedure has been introduced. This procedure, called induced hypothermia, involves cooling the victim's body to significantly slow the body cell deterioration caused when the heart is no longer pumping blood. Research shows that a person's brain cells die at the rate of 10% per minute when the heart is no longer pumping oxygenated blood. Induced hypothermia has been shown to significantly slow this damage to the brain and all major organs of the body.