I have pledged to work with the Arrhythmia Alliance to raise awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) – the UK’s leading killer – and Arrhythmia Alliance aims to work in partnership with others to reduce the number of deaths in the UK from SCA by 50% by 2020.

Paul Scully MP with TrudieAt an event held in Parliament hosted by the Arrhythmia Alliance on Thursday 5th November, I signed a pledge in support of the Arrhythmia Alliance’s ‘Now is the Time’ Manifesto. Arrhythmia Alliance’s Manifesto: ‘Now is the Time’ was launched in June this year and delivered into parliaments across the UK. The manifesto presents both the cause of SCA and the consequences of not being adequately equipped to revive a patient. It also offers a seven-task solution to improving, and dramatically increasing, the number of lives saved from SCA.

This event raised awareness of these issues and Parliamentarians who attended had a FREE pulse check, FREE ECG hand-held recording and the opportunity to see a defibrillator demonstration.

Arrhythmia Alliance Chief Executive Trudie Lobban MBE, who hosted the event, said: “Today across the UK, up to 250 people will be struck down by sudden cardiac arrest and less than 20 will survive – in many other places across the world MORE THAN 100 of these people would survive and continue to live their lives. All of this can happen quickly – in fact, in a matter of seconds… sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, at any time, any age, without warning. Unless treated immediately by CPR and defibrillation this always leads to death within minutes.”

I was delighted to attend Arrhythmia Alliance’s reception in Parliament and pledge my support for their ‘Now is the Time’ Manifesto. I was shocked by some of the figures that I heard at the event and I hope we can reach the target to reduce the number of deaths in the UK from SCA by 50% by 2020. It was a fantastic to learn more about the work of the Arrhythmia Alliance and I would encourage everyone to check out some of the work they are doing, and how they can get involved.

For further information about Arrhythmia Alliance or to view the Manifesto, please visit: http://heartrhythmcharity.org.uk/.