South Miami Heart Center Vice President Carol Biggs (left) and cardiologist John Dylewski, M.D., (left center) present one of four AEDs to Chet England (center) from Christ Fellowship Church along with South Miami Hospital’s Director of Respiratory Services Mikki Thompson (right center) and Herbert Greene, M.D., (right) Christ Fellowship Church of Palmetto Bay and Baptist Health South Florida Board of Trustees member.

South Miami Heart Center donated the four automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, as part of its sudden cardiac arrest public awareness program that has placed nearly 530 of the lifesaving machines in schools, churches and non-profit organizations throughout Miami-Dade County and the Caribbean. Christ Fellowship Church will use the AEDs at four of its campuses to ensure the safety of the congregants during worship services and church activities.

Sudden cardiac arrest happens when a malfunction of the heart’s electrical system causes the heart to stop beating. Automatic external defibrillators shock the heart back into rhythm and potentially save lives.