FRANKFORT, KY — A Kentucky parent who lost his child to sudden heart failure in 2020 joined lawmakers on Tuesday morning, as the House Education Committee unanimously passed a bill requiring on-site defibrillators at all middle and high schools in the state.
According to LEX 18, Matt Mangine Sr. lost his 16-year-old son in 2020, when he died after experiencing sudden heart failure during soccer practice.
Mangine told reporters at LEX 18 the passage of House Bill 331 was a step in the right direction, emphasizing NFL player Damar Hamlin's sudden cardiac arrest on the football field as a catalyst for public awareness.
"You know we've been speaking on this for two years trying to get people excited and unfortunately my voice wasn't powerful enough and an incident happened on a football field that everyone in America got to see, and it's really taken this to a whole different level," Mangine reportedly said.
Instructors from the American Heart Association were on site too, giving legislators a short demonstration on CPR and how to use Automated External Defibrillators.
According to LEX 18, the instructor shared how most people don't survive a cardiac event because the people around them are scared to step in and assist. But, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says bystanders can help save lives by using an AED while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
When the heart stops beating, the DHHS explains on their website, blood and oxygen can't get to the brain — and the brain can't function for long without oxygen. AEDs can restart the heart by using an electric shock.
HB 331 sponsor Representative Karen Moser hopes with more training and convenient access to AED's in public places, like schools, more people can survive cardiac events.
"We're very concerned about school safety in all other ways and I think this is really a key to saving a student that goes down with a sudden cardiac arrest," Moser reportedly said.
