DETROIT — If someone in your school community suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, would you know what to do? Did you know that early recognition of a cardiac arrest, calling 9-1-1, bystander response with hands-only CPR, and use of an automated external defibrillator greatly increase the chance of survival?

Sudden cardiac death of the young (SCDY), or sudden unexplained death, occurs when a young, apparently healthy person dies suddenly from a cardiac arrest or an unknown cause. SCDY claims the lives of more than 300 Michigan children and young adults between the ages of 1-39 years annually.

Six Catholic schools in the metropolitan area are among 268 schools state-wide that are designated a MI HEARTSafe School: DeLaSalle Collegiate in Warren, Notre Dame Marist Academy and Notre Dame Preparatory School in Pontiac, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Elementary School in Beverly Hills, Fr. Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor, and U-D Jesuit High School and Academy in Detroit.

The designation recognizes a school’s efforts to prevent sudden cardiac death of the young by screening its athletes for inherited syndromes that predispose to sudden cardiac arrest and recognizing and responding to a cardiac emergency until EMS arrives.