I recently suffered a major cardiac event, referred to as a “widow maker” and was very fortunate to survive the event. According to the American Heart Association, severe blockages of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery have a 12 per cent survival rate when they occur outside of an advanced medical facility. The secret to my success for recovering from an 80 per cent blockage event was being in the next-best place on the Island outside of the hospital — on a tennis court that had an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Coincidentally on the adjacent courts happened to be a pharmacist with extensive CPR experience and a retired pulmonologist, who resuscitated me within minutes while the ambulance was en-route. How lucky is that?

As a 63-year-old otherwise healthy male, this event has become a motivator to express my gratitude and pay this experience forward. It’s my turn to improve the chances of someone else having a similar event, for them to get the critically important response and tools that I was fortunate to receive.

To that end, I have organized a non-profit called MV Pulse Project, created to raise awareness and funds with a goal to buy AED’s including training for at least 10 community organizations. Sites to be determined will be based on location and the audience they serve. The approximate cost for an AED including training is $2,500.

There are over 100 AED’s scattered across the Island (we’re working to identify them and make the list available and ideally viewable on a map). Through this process, it will be interesting to also determine where there are geographic gaps in coverage across the Island. My recent conversations with first-responders has been very productive among the Island fire departments, paramedics, police, hospital and the YMCA, and should yield strong results.

Unfortunately, outside of AED’s available in public buildings and gyms, it’s not well communicated across the business community where the private AED’s are located. This is not to say that every business needs to have an AED, but it is to suggest that more communication will help a retail store that may experience a cardiac event to be able to take advantage of tools on-hand including CPR know-how at a nearby restaurant.

If you work for an Island nonprofit/community organization that would benefit from having an AED, please reach out to me at [email protected].

Also, if you are an EMT, paramedic or health care professional who is qualified to train CPR, AED, first aid, choking etc., please contact me so we can include you on a comprehensive list of resources. If your business has an AED, it would be good to hear from you to be included on the list.

Pray that in the unfortunate event that you suffer a cardiac event you are close to an AED and knowledgeable people who know how to implement it and CPR. Or maybe you can pay it forward in your own way by getting certified in CPR. Drop me a line and I’ll be happy to share the many options.

Otherwise, consider a financial contribution to the MV Pulse Project, in partnership with the Martha’s Vineyard Community Fund at marthasvineyardcf.org, then click on the “donate” button. You can also spread the word on social media by following us on Instagram at mv_pulse_project.

Lou Quattrucci

Oak Bluffs