Please take the time to click on the link below and read the story of Courtney Alexander. She is an incredibly articulate, intelligent, caring and lucky woman.  Her life was nearly cut short by a somewhat rare condition known as Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection or SCAD.  Because her husband knew CPR and the police nearby happened to have an automated defibrillator (AED) in the backseat of their cruiser her life was saved. Courtney developed a cardiac arrest as a result of her SCAD event. Her very well written and touching piece below stresses the importance of learning CPR and the emphasizes the need for more widely available AED's.  Her story also sheds light on the fact that young, previously healthy men and women can develop heart disease out of the blue and should not be discounted just because they don't look like the typical heart disease patient.  I applaud Courtney for sharing her story.  In my own practice I have encountered several patients whose stories are similar and I know of at least 9 children who have mothers alive today thanks to immediate bystander CPR and defibrillation with an AED.  Check with your local AHA affiliate and find out what you can do to help raise awareness and please learn Hands Only CPR and teach it to your friends.  

Courtney's Story: http://goo.gl/Dz88Ds

Hands Only CPR:  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAndECC/HandsOnlyCPR/Hands-Only-CPR_UCM_440559_SubHomePage.jsp