Playing for a Great Cause

Did you know that all money raised through our Nova Scotia Heart & Stroke TV Bingo goes to fund programs right here at home! Those initiatives can potentially save lives, improve outcomes in an emergency, and increase the quality of lives for people in our community.

Increasing survival rates of cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly stops beating, is an important example.

An estimated 35,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in Canada; that is one every 15 minutes. Most cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital.

Improving cardiac arrest outcomes means saving more lives. Getting help quickly can be the difference between life and death. It’s important that bystanders – our friends, neighbours, and fellow Nova Scotians - recognize the signs of cardiac arrest, can perform CPR, and know how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) while waiting for first responders to show up. With the right know-how, any one of us can be a hero.

Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone of any age at any time or place without warning.

Signs include sudden collapse, being unresponsive to touch or sound, and not breathing normally.

Source: Connolly, M., Goldstein, J. & Sapp, J. Urban-Rural Differences in Cardiac Arrest Outcomes: A Retrospective Population-Based Cohort Study. CJC Open. 2021; 4(4):383-389.

Heart & Stroke is working with the provincial government to get CPR/AED education in schools.

“The key to improving survival rates involves equipping Nova Scotians with the tools needed to provide a layer of protection to cardiac arrest victims when an emergency strikes,” says Kathryn Rand, Director of Health Policy and Systems with Heart & Stroke Nova Scotia. The plan is to create a generation of heroes by embedding CPR and AED education into schools, ensuring every Nova Scotian knows how to restart a heart.

Nova Scotia is also one of four provinces involved in a pilot CPR education project geared to students in Grades 7 to 9 that will be rolled out at five sites across the province next year . “It’s an immersive education program that actually walks students through a teacher having a cardiac arrest, which includes practicing CPR and applying an AED,” says Kathryn.

Heart & Stroke Nova Scotia is working with the Department of Education to set up the pilot. Research findings from that project will help inform implementation of the program throughout the province.

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Winners' Hotline : 1 (833) 642-4646

Winners' Hotline : 1 (833) 642-4646