Cardiologist John Dylewski, M.D., addressed City of South Miami employees and police officers about the importance of having automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, onsite to potentially save someone’s life when that person goes into sudden cardiac arrest. South Miami Heart Center donated six 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.

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.