Summer Camp AED Scavenger Hunt Aims to Keep Kids Heart-Safe

For the seventh consecutive year, the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF), is partnering with the American Camp Association (ACA) for a summer-long AED scavenger hunt. The national initiative challenges campers across the U.S. to locate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and learn about emergency preparedness and early defibrillation during a cardiac emergency.

CCF founding executive director, Lisa Yue, understands the importance of emergency preparedness and early defibrillation, as she lost two children to cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in the young.

“Children with cardiomyopathy do not always have obvious symptoms and, as such, may not be properly diagnosed, putting them at risk for sudden cardiac death,” Yue says. “By encouraging campers and staff around the country to be involved in this awareness initiative, we can improve the overall response rate and save more lives.”

According to the American Heart Association, only 6 percent of children who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive. CCF’s AED Scavenger Hunt is designed to educate campers and staff about the importance of having accessible and functioning AEDs at camps, knowing their locations, and understanding how to use them during a cardiac emergency.