Each year nearly 5,000 people die from heart attacks in Costa Rica. Most of those lives are lost because of delays in responding to the medical emergencies, lack of equipment (defibrillators - AEDs), shortage of personnel and training (use of AEDs and CPR)...
Provide defibrillators “AEDs” and an action & education plan to our communities that don’t have access to or don’t have adequate emergency medical equipment.
Educate our local people and organizations about the possible threat (any age), the symptoms of a cardiac arrest/ heart attack and what they should do during such medical emergencies. Alert them to be prepared, to know who to call, where to take the ailing person, how to help them while waiting for emergency assistance. During emergencies these simple steps often become impossible under extreme stress if one is not prepared with a plan of action.
Develop public relation programs to promote preventive measures relating to cardiac medical issues.
Make available to local people and organizations certified training for CPR and the use of AEDs. Distribute information that describes what CPR is, what the class entails, and the importance of being certified and ready to assist loved ones, friends, neighbors and possibly donate their time to the community. It is not clearly known by most locals in our communities what an AED is or how it works and that the CPR process may be necessary to initiate before an AED will activate. Eventually influence local government to become more active and supportive in contributing to medical emergencies outside of a hospital or clinic environment; “at the scene where the victim is experiencing the cardiac emergency”.
Often times you will hear a local greet another local and especially a foreign visitor: “Pura Vida” ( Pure Life). The intention of this social greeting is good, met with acceptance and smiling faces and supports a lay back lifestyle promoted in a tropical environment. However we cannot be layback about the current situation in our communities affected by poor cardiac victim survival rates. It is necessary to realize the importance of what is urgently needed and take action:
1) Acquire adequate emergency medical equipment
2) Provide proper training to not only medical staff but to the community as well and equip emergency vehicles
3) Public awareness of what is available to them for medical emergencies.
Medical Emergencies in our community: we need education, planning, awareness, and strong promotional programs to improve survival conditions in our communities.
Our Supporters and Allies
We thank all the companies and organizations behind Cardio Safe, a communitary effort to organize and improve the Health and Emergency Response in Costa Rica.
~ IMAGO Marketing and Grafica - http://imagocr.com/
~ Grupo Do it.
~ Coldwell Banker Coast to Coast Properties. - www.coldwellbankercr.com