Cardiac Science Deploying Automated External Defibrillators in Schools Nationwide-Public Schools Seek to Tackle Surprising Rise in Sudden Cardiac Arrest Among Students
PR NEWSWIRE, 2/19/2002 1:30:00 AM
IRVINE, Calif., Feb 19, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Cardiac Science Inc. (Nasdaq: DFIB) today announced it has been selected to outfit dozens of schools across the nation with automated public access defibrillators (AEDs). In aggregate, nearly 200 devices were sold to schools throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio and more schools districts around the nation are expected to deploy Cardiac Science AEDs in coming weeks.
AEDs are portable, easy-to-use automated devices that deliver a life- saving electric shock to the heart to halt rapid and chaotic heart activity -- sudden cardiac arrest -- and restore a normal heart rhythm.
"We believe we are the market leader in AEDs sales to schools nationwide," said President and CEO Raymond W. Cohen. "Numerous accounts of tragic deaths of young people from sudden cardiac arrest, combined with recent AED legislation, has prompted a groundswell of interest in placing AEDs in academic institutions of all kinds. In response, we quickly implemented a marketing strategy which has allowed Cardiac Science to capture business in this emerging market segment."
In many cases, school officials chose the Cardiac Science's Survivalink(R)-brand AEDs after a competitive evaluation process including product demonstrations of all AEDs currently on the market. Martin Handler, District Superintendent for New York's Sullivan County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, who oversees eight school districts and about 12,000 students, based his buying decision on three competitive factors: ease of use, special features and cost.
"The Survivalink AEDs were, hands down, the easiest machine to use, particularly by someone who is not a professional rescuer, only someone trained in the use of the AEDs," said Handler, who has 20 years of experience as an emergency medical technician in addition to his educational training. "We had all three manufacturers in for demonstrations and Cardiac Science's product was our choice."
Medical health experts have documented a surprising rise in death from sudden cardiac arrest in young adults. A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a total of 23,320 young adults died of cardiac arrest between 1989-1996 and the death rate from cardiac arrest in the 1990s climbed 10 percent in men and 32 percent in women, according to the study. CDC theorized that an epidemic of obesity, increased smoking and drug abuse were certainly factors in the increased death rate. While the experts say the specific triggers of cardiac arrest in young adults are unclear, at least 120 cases of commotio cordis have been documented since the formation of the United States Commotio Cordis registry in 1998. Young athletes are especially vulnerable to commotio cordis -- a syndrome resulting from a blow to the chest, which can lead to sudden cardiac arrest -- because of the pliability of their chest walls.
Pat Rielly, the District Chairperson of Health Services for Schaumburg Community Coordinated School District #54 of Schaumburg, IL, a 16,000-student district in the suburbs of Chicago that purchased 30 AEDs from Cardiac Science, said there are well documented incidents in her community and elsewhere around the nation where an AED may have saved a student's life if one had been available.
"An AED is something you hope you'll never have to use, but if you use it one time and it saves a life, it's well worth it," said Rielly, who is also a registered nurse. "For our district, I was certainly very interested in making this happen."
Cohen said that deploying AEDs in schools could wind up being "one of the most important public health and safety decisions a school official can make to protect its students and faculty."
Handler and other school district officials noted that they were following the lead of recent federal and state legislation that calls for the deployment of AEDs in public and government workplaces, and specifically schools in many states. This month, the Senate passed the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation Act of 2001 which earmark $55 million a year for five years for communities to purchase and place AEDs in public places; train first responders, encourage private companies to purchase AEDs; and promote public access to defibrillation in schools.
In November, the U.S. Senate passed the Teaching Children to Save Lives Act, which authorizes $30 million over three years to allow local school districts to apply for federal grants to implement cardiopulmonary resuscitation and AED training programs.
The Rural Access to Emergency Care Act was signed into law last year authorizing the federal government to expand access to AEDs in rural areas. This year, both Houses of Congress approved $12.5 million in funding grants to facilitate community partnerships consisting of local emergency responders, police, and fire departments, hospitals and other community organizations to purchase AEDs and train potential responders in their use.
AEDs are also currently being deployed in public settings across the country including in municipal buildings, workplaces, airports, amusement parks, resorts, and restaurants. "The now widespread understanding of the benefits of AED availability is driving what has become one of the fastest growing markets in the medical device industry," Cohen added.
School Districts Deploying Cardiac Science AEDs
The following is a partial list of the schools and school districts deploying Cardiac Science AEDs: Sullivan County BOCES, NY; South Huntington School District, Long Island, NY; Syosset Central School District, Syosset, NY; Manhasset Junior/Senior High School, Manhasset, NY; Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY; Moorestown High School, Moorestown, NJ; Fond du Lac Schools, Fond du Lac, WI; Framingham Public Schools, Framingham, MA; Boston Public Schools, Boston, MA; Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MA; Forest Hills Public Schools, Cincinnati, Ohio; Schaumburg Community Consolidated School District #54, Schaumburg, IL.
About Sudden Cardiac Arrest and AEDs
Sudden cardiac arrest takes a tremendous toll on the American public, killing more than 450,000 people annually, making it the leading cause of death. Currently, a person who suffers sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, where about two-thirds of cardiac deaths occur, has only around a 5 percent chance of surviving. Defibrillation is the only effective treatment for sudden cardiac arrest. Every minute that goes by without receiving a defibrillation shock decreases a person's chance of survival by 10 percent. AEDs have a 97 percent success rate in terminating ventricular fibrillation, yet fewer than half of the nation's ambulance services, less than 15 percent of emergency service fire units and less than 2 percent of police vehicles are currently equipped with AEDs.
According to market analysis published by Frost & Sullivan in 2000, it is estimated that the worldwide market for AEDs will expand to over 250,000 units a year by 2006, accounting for over $650 million in annual revenue. Cardiac Science currently holds approximately 20 percent share of the AED market.
About Cardiac Science
Cardiac Science develops, manufactures and markets life-saving automatic external cardiac defibrillator devices and proprietary, disposable defibrillator electrode pads that monitor and treat patients who suffer life- threatening heart rhythms.
In February 2002, Company gained FDA clearance for its new Powerheart(R) AED, designed to be the easiest to use and most technologically advanced public access defibrillator for the emergency treatment of victims exhibiting symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest.
In December 2001, the Company gained FDA clearance for its second generation patient monitor, the Powerheart Cardiac Rhythm Module(TM), a patented fully-automatic bedside defibrillator-monitor that continuously monitors hospitalized cardiac patients, instantly detects the onset of life- threatening abnormal heart rhythms, and, when appropriate, delivers defibrillation shocks within seconds and without human intervention to convert the heart back to its normal rhythm.
Powerheart CRM, Powerheart AED and Survivalink(R)-brand automated external defibrillators (AEDs) along with Artema(R)-brand emergency defibrillators and patient monitoring products are marketed by its 45-person direct sales force in the United States and by international distributors in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.cardiacscience.com . For investor information please visit www.allencaron.com .
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements include, but are not limited to the life-saving potential of Cardiac Science's technology, the size of the AED market and Cardiac Science's market share. Cardiac Science cautions that these statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties and are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements and should not be relied upon by investors when making an investment decision. Information on these and other factors is detailed in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2000 and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information, please contact Matt Clawson (Investors), matt@allencaron.com, Lynn Johnson, or Len Hall (Media), len@allencaron.com, all of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for Cardiac Science Inc.; or Michael Gioffredi, VP Sales & Marketing of Cardiac Science, Inc., +1-949-587-0357, mgioffredi@cardiacscience.com.
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