The Millstone Times November 2019

New Jersey Heroes Honored for Saving Lives The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognized two Millstone Township residents for their efforts to strengthen the Chain of Survival. Robbinsville, NJ, October 1, 2019 – Twenty-six individuals and organizations in New Jersey were recently honored at the American Heart Association 2019 New Jersey Heart and Stroke Heroes Awards for their life-saving efforts. The American Heart Association Heart and Stroke Heroes Awards is held annually to commend individuals, organizations and schools throughout the Garden State for taking extraordinary steps to strengthen the American Heart Association Chain of Survival or for rescue efforts that saved a life of someone experiencing a cardiac or stroke emergency. The Chain of Survival is only as strong as its weakest link. The American Heart Association Chain of Survival is a critical five-step process that can mean the difference between life and death for someone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack or stroke, as well as other medical emergencies such as choking and drowning. The five critical steps or “links” in the Chain of Survival include: Link # 1: Early Access (know the warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack and stroke and call 9-1-1 immediately) Link # 2: Early Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

Link # 3: Early Defibrillation Link # 4: Early Advanced Care Link # 5: Integrated Post-Cardiac Arrest Care

Nearly 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital every year. Given immediately, CPR doubles or triples survival rates and executing the Chain of Survival can save thousands of lives annually. Additionally, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, while someone dies from a stroke every 4 minutes. Time is crucial for stroke treatment, the faster symptoms are recognized and 9-1-1 is called, the better the outcome. Two Millstone Township residents received a 2019 Heart and Stroke Heroes Award for her actions to strengthen the Chain of Survival. Madeline DiMezza and her mom, Teresa, had returned home from field hockey game in September 2018. DiMezza was about to step into the shower when her father, Steven, called her cell phone and urged her to check her mom. He had just spoken to his wife and he sensed something was wrong.

When DiMezza found her mom in the upstairs bathroom, she could not walk, talk or move the left side of her body. DiMezza recognized the symptoms of stroke and immediately called 9-1-1. After spending several days in ICU, cardiac care and then several months of rehab, Teresa is doing well today. She attributes her hus- band’s intuition and daughter’s quick recognition and action to call 9-1-1 to saving her life. The New Jersey Heart and Stroke Heroes Awards, locally sponsored by RWJBarnabas Health, is an initiative supporting the American Heart Association’s efforts to strengthen the Chain of Survival in our communities as part of their mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Anyone can learn CPR and know the signs of a stroke. Visit heart. org/handsonlyCPR for a short instructional video on hands-only CPR that could help save a life. The American Stroke Association suggests remembering the acro- nym FAST to recall the most common signs of stroke. F.A.S.T. stands for: • Face Drooping Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the mouth lopsided or uneven? • Arm Weakness Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? • Speech Difficulty Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "the sky is blue." Is the sentence repeated correctly? Time to call 911 If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get them to the hospital imme- diately. For more information, visit stroke.org.

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10 The Millstone Times

November 2019