Learn to Save a Life This October During National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Wendi ChasonMount Sinai Press Office(212) 241-9200 [email protected]

Learn to Save a Life This October During National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

Mount Sinai Health System urges the general public, especially students, to learn lifesaving CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator to reduce sudden cardiac death rates

Newswise — NEW YORK, NY (OCTOBER, 13, 2016): The Mount Sinai Health System will host five free Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Fairs this October in honor of National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month to increase the community's knowledge about what sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and how to save more lives from it by teaching lifesaving hands-only CPR and the proper use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Mount Sinai invites students at area schools and community members to attend its SCA Awareness Fairs. Attendees will be educated by Mount Sinai Health System's cardiologists, nurse practitioners, nurses, emergency medicine experts, and other staffers, who will demonstrate hands-only CPR and automated external defibrillator technology. In addition, attendees will be able to explore the inside of a Mount Sinai ambulance.

"Mount Sinai's Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Fairs are very important to show adults and school children alike how they can save a life during an emergency if they are armed with the proper knowledge and skills," says Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President of Cardiac Services for the Mount Sinai Health System.

SCA occurs when a person's heart abruptly stops beating, and may be caused by a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm, a genetic predisposition, or for no explained reason. Each year, more than 350,000 adults and children die unexpectedly from SCA. "It is known that, if CPR and/or AED is used within minutes to resuscitate a person who experiences sudden cardiac arrest, it may help save their life," says Dr. Oliver.

Mount Sinai Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Fairs will take place between 11 am and 2 pm (except as noted) at these locations:• Mount Sinai St. Luke's – Friday, October 14, 1111 Amsterdam Avenue (at 114th Street), Hospital Lobby • The Mount Sinai Hospital – Friday, October 14, 1468 Madison Avenue, Guggenheim Pavilion, Lobby Atrium• PACC – Friday, October 21 (11 am-3 pm), Phillips Ambulatory Care Center, 10 Union Square East, Second Floor Atrium• Mount Sinai Brooklyn – Thursday, October 27, 3201 Kings Highway, Main Lobby

About the Mount Sinai Health SystemThe Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services—from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the “Honor Roll” of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals."

For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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