Hockey great Jiri Fischer supports AED initiative

Defenceman Jiri Fischer was sitting on the bench during a game when he collapsed and underwent sudden cardiac arrest. Fischer credits the team doctors and availability of an AED, coupled with CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) for saving his life. Now, he's helping the Foundation raise awareness about the importance of AEDs and CPR.

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According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, approximately 7,000 cardiac arrests occur in Ontario alone each year. The odds of survival are almost four times greater if someone performs CPR immediately, and when combined with early defibrillation, AEDs can increase sudden cardiac arrest survival rates to 50% or more if delivered in the first few minutes. The odds of survival for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are approximately 5%. With each passing minute, the probability of survival declines by 7% to 10%.

CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a simple, lifesaving skill that all Canadians should learn. Cardiac arrest survival rates increase when bystanders follow the first three links in the Chain of
Survival: phoning 9-1-1, performing CPR right away, and providing defibrillation as soon as possible. Research suggests that doubling the number of citizens trained in CPR could save more than 1,000 lives in Canada every year. With each passing minute, the probability of survival declines by 7% to 10%, according to the Foundation. When defibrillation is used along with CPR, survival rates can go from 5% to more than 50% if delivered in the first few minutes.