AED Programs and Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survival in High Schools
This paper reviews a landmark study by Drezner et al. (2009) examining the effectiveness of emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in U.S. high schools equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Drawing on survey data from more than 1,700 schools across all 50 states, the paper summarizes the study's key findings: that schools with established emergency action plans and annual AED training achieved SCA survival rates approaching 75%. The paper also highlights that adult non-students — teachers, coaches, and spectators — represent a significant portion of SCA victims on school grounds, underscoring the broad benefit of comprehensive AED programs beyond student athletes alone.
- Introduction: Sudden Cardiac Arrest and AEDs in High Schools: SCA prevalence and AED adoption in schools
- Overview of the Drezner Study: Survey methodology and school participation details
- Key Findings on Survival and Emergency Action Plans: Survival rates and EAP training outcomes
- Conclusions and Implications for School AED Programs: Policy recommendations for school AED programs
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds its argument in a specific, peer-reviewed study, giving the analysis a clear empirical foundation rather than relying on general claims.
- Uses precise statistics drawn directly from the source (e.g., "7–10% survival drop per minute," "92% had an EAP") to support each point concisely.
- Extends the argument beyond the obvious audience — noting that adult non-students are themselves SCA victims — which adds analytical depth to what could otherwise be a narrow summary.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates effective source synthesis: rather than simply restating what Drezner et al. found, it explains the practical significance of each finding (e.g., why annual practice matters, why non-student victims change the policy argument) and draws a policy recommendation from the data. This moves the writing from mere summary to genuine critical engagement with the source.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with epidemiological context that establishes stakes, then introduces the specific study being reviewed. A second paragraph summarizes the study's methodology and quantitative findings. The final paragraph draws broader conclusions — particularly the underappreciated benefit to adult staff — before the reference list closes the piece. The structure follows a classic review pattern: context → evidence → implication.
Introduction: Sudden Cardiac Arrest and AEDs in High Schools
Heart attacks, or sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), affect more than 300,000 Americans each year and are considered the leading cause of death in the United States. Once a person experiences an SCA event, the single most important factor determining survival is the time elapsed from SCA to defibrillation. In fact, the survival rate of a person suffering an SCA can drop "7% to 10% per minute with every minute defibrillation is delayed" (Drezner, 2009, p. 518). Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have become a common means of surviving an out-of-hospital SCA, increasing survival rates to as much as 74% when defibrillation occurs within the first 3 to 5 minutes.
Because SCA also accounts for nearly half of all deaths involving young athletes, many high schools are investing in AEDs and instituting AED programs to educate staff and teachers in their proper use. The benefit of emergency action plans for SCA extends beyond students to spectators, coaches, officials, staff, and other non-students as well. While many schools have been employing AEDs, little was known about their effectiveness in real-life situations until Jonathan Drezner and his associates studied the effects of emergency response planning for SCA with AEDs in high schools across the United States and published their findings in an article entitled "Effectiveness of Emergency Response Planning for Sudden Cardiac Arrest in United States High Schools With Automated External Defibrillators."
Overview of the Drezner Study
This study consisted of a comprehensive survey about emergency planning and any incidents of SCA that had occurred in the previous six months, completed by a representative of each participating school. More than 1,700 individual schools with an on-site AED program responded to the questionnaire, representing schools across all 50 states in rural, suburban, and urban areas.
The study discovered that 83% of schools with an AED also had a corresponding emergency action plan (EAP), but only 40% of schools practiced or reviewed their EAP annually. When it came to real-life SCA events, just 36 of the schools reported an incident of SCA, with victims including both students and non-students. "Thirty-three of the 36 schools (92%) with an incident of SCA had an established EAP," but only half had practiced it annually (Drezner, 2009, p. 519). The AED was used to deliver a shock in 30 of the 36 cases, and 23 of the 36 victims survived to be discharged from the hospital.
The study concluded that a "high survival rate for both student athletes and older non-students with SCA was reported in high schools with onsite AED programs" (Drezner, 2009, p. 522). In other words, since roughly 4% of American high schools will experience an SCA event, all high schools could benefit from providing not only an AED but also an AED program that is practiced at least once a year.
References
Drezner, J., Rao, A., Heistand, J., Bloomingdale, M., & Harmon, K. (2009). Effectiveness of emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in United States high schools with automated external defibrillators. Journal of the American Heart Association, 120, 518–525.
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