AED Plus Save of 16-Year-Old Football Player in Minnesota Underscores the Importance of Having AEDs in Schools and at Sports Events

"A recent study(1) published in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal, Circulation, found that high schools with an AED program in place experienced a high rate of survival for both students and adults who suffered SCA on schools grounds," said Jonathan A. Rennert, President of ZOLL. "Early CPR and rapid defibrillation combined with early advanced care can result in high long-term survival rates for witnessed cardiac arrest. If more people react quickly by calling 9-1-1 and performing CPR, more lives can be saved."

The life of 16-year-old Ted Okerstrom, a junior at Wayzata High School, Plymouth, Minnesota, was saved in June with the help of an AED and the quick action of his football coaches and team when he collapsed from SCA during summer conditioning. While his defensive coach started immediate CPR, the athletic department secretary, who is also an EMT, had the fastest runner in the school get the ZOLL AED Plus(R) into the hands of assistant coach, Ryan Johnson.

"Using the AED Plus took so much pressure off of us. It literally walked us through the steps we needed to take and became our head coach. It advised us what to do, when to push harder when doing chest compressions, and when to administer a shock," said Johnson. "It was reassuring and so easy to use." Johnson has been a volunteer on the fire department for six years, but said this was his first save.

"We applaud the leadership of Wayzata High School for their thoughtful preparations and quick, decisive actions," said Mary Newman, President of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, a national nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh. "It is unlikely Ted would have survived this life threatening incident if the school had not been prepared to effectively fight sudden death."

This is such an important issue that the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation launched a campaign earlier this year, You Can Save a Life at School (TM). The campaign emphasizes the need for schools to ensure that students, faculty, staff and visitors are protected from untimely deaths resulting from sudden cardiac arrest by advancing training and placement of AEDs. (See www.sca-aware.org/schools.) ZOLL Medical is one of the key sponsors of this campaign.

"Too many students, particularly athletes, have died at school because no one knew the importance of giving CPR or chest compressions, and using an AED," said Bobby Khan, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Board of Directors, and Assistant Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine (Cardiology).

"This simply is not acceptable," said Khan. "All schools across the nations should be prepared to challenge sudden death."

The AED Plus is the only Full-Rescue AED that features Real CPR Help(R) to instantly allow bystanders and first responders to see and hear how well they are performing the rate and depth of CPR chest compressions. It is ideal for infrequent rescuers as it guides them through the complete Chain of Survival, helping all sudden cardiac arrest victims, even those for whom a shock is not advised.

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest

SCA is the leading cause of unexpected death, and can strike at any age and without a prior history of heart disease. A victim's chances of survival are reduced by 7 to 10 percent with every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes.

SCA, an abrupt disruption of the heart's function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs, claims more than 325,000 lives each year in the U.S. Currently, only about 5 percent of victims survive; 95 percent will die from SCA.

About the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Foundation is a national non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its mission is to serve as an information clearinghouse and social marketing force focused on raising awareness about sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), and stimulating attitudinal and behavioral changes that will help save more lives. Initiatives include an online registry for SCA survivors, an online community for people affected by SCA, an awareness campaign for schools, and the "People Saving People" awards. The SCA Foundation maintains a national database of survivors and experts available to speak with the media. For more information, visit http://www.sca-aware.org.

About ZOLL Medical Corporation

ZOLL Medical Corporation is committed to developing technologies that help advance the practice of resuscitation and temperature control therapies for the treatment of critical care patients. With products for pacing, defibrillation, circulation, temperature management, and fluid resuscitation, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies, including Real CPR Help(R) and See-Thru CPR(R), which help clinicians, EMS professionals, and lay rescuers resuscitate sudden cardiac arrest or trauma victims. ZOLL also designs and markets software that automates the documentation and management of both clinical and non-clinical information.

ZOLL markets and sells its products in more than 140 countries. The Company has direct operations, distributor networks, and business partners throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australia. During 2008 ZOLL marked the 25th anniversary of the Company's resuscitation product development. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements regarding the future business of the Company, and other statements contained herein regarding matters that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking" statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 7, 2009. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release, and the Company disavows any obligation to update or supplement those statements in the event of any changes in the facts, circumstances, or expectations that underlie those statements.

Copyright (C) 2009 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. 269 Mill Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824-4105. ZOLL, AED Plus, Real CPR Help, and See-Thru CPR are registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation. All product names are the property of their respective owners.

(1)Circulation, Aug 2009; 120: 518 - 525. Jonathan A. Drezner et al, Effectiveness of Emergency Response Planning for Sudden Cardiac Arrest in United States High Schools With Automated External Defibrillators.

SOURCE: ZOLL Medical Corporation

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