Improving cardiac arrest survival is a communal effort. Bystanders must be trained and ready to act in case of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). When an emergency call arrives and a coordinated system of EMS reaches the emergency location, there is the neurological condition to raise the survival rate.

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the most feared health issue because hits human body without any previous sign. In this field, The Citizen CPR Foundation gave birth to HEARTSafe Community: a program designed to create communities of heroes and survivors.

This project has its roots in the mission of improving action and response to cardiac arrest through training, preparation and response protocols. The criteria included in the program on cardiac arrest “chain of survival” encourage a participating community to put that chain of survival into action.

This part of the chain is very important. We always think about the emergency as a precise and pragmatic flow: emergency, call EMS, dispatch to the hospital. Many times we underestimate the power that bystanders have in this flow.

Activities that support a chain of survival can include widespread CPR instruction, public access defibrillators, aggressive resuscitation protocols for first responders and area hospitals. Communities that strive to become “heart safe” must meet the criteria established by the Citizen CPR Foundation.

Any community can meet the HEARTSafe designation. In case they would do this, they will receive signage they can post to demonstrate their commitment to citizen health and safety. Nowadays, over 600 communities joined the group of HEARTSafe communities.

The Citizen CPR Foundation is partnering with a team of cross-disciplinary experts to establish guidelines that will help strengthen the chain of survival. These steps and protocols will provide a set of guidelines with clear steps to prepare community ecosystems to respond to citizen SCA.