A tragic scene unfolded in Southern Pines the Tuesday before Christmas. A shopping crowd gathered to witness attempts to save a man's life from apparent sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

This is another wake-up call for all citizens and business owners. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) need to be widely deployed in our community. SCA is extremely deadly with a mortality rate of 95 percent.

Americans die because most do not receive medical treatment within the first 4-6 minutes (an EMS response rarely occurs within that time) -- when brain and permanent death start to occur. For each minute without a heartbeat, there is a 10 percent decrease in survival rate.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) alone will save a victim of SCA about 5 percent of the time. Several studies demonstrate that when an AED is combined with CPR, survival rates can increase to 50 percent and, in some circumstances, to 75 percent.

Far too many places in our community lack AED coverage. Theaters, hotels, churches, shopping plazas, parks and recreation centers, athletic fields and restaurants need to have AEDs and trained staff.

HeartSafe Moore County, which has worked for the past year to raise funds to deploy AEDs in our schools, is working to make Moore County the first HeartSafe community in North Carolina.

If you are serious about saving a life, please consider a tax-deductible donation to HeartSafe Moore County, or purchase an AED through the organization. For more information about AEDs and HeartSafe Moore County, call the local chapter of the American Red Cross, 692-8571, or Moore County Public Safety, 947-6500.