Bill Tracker: Defibrillators at Sporting Events

There are three bills before the Legislature, HB 214, SB 87, and SB 82, making it mandatory for school districts to have automated external defibrillators (AED) at athletic competitions.

The bills differ in the scope of training and certification required, but the important part of the bill is that an AED will make it to the fields and courts of our schools.

Why do we need an AED on the field? Because speed in reacting to the situation is the key to saving lives. Studies show that if an AED is used within 1 minute of cardiac arrest, there is a 100% success rate; that drops to 80% at 2 minutes, and 0% at greater than 4 minutes. A lay person adequately trained in recognizing symptoms can readily use the AED on site within minutes.

The requirement of an AED on site is of particular interest to me as a lacrosse coach. Our sport saw the bad side of cardiac arrest (or commotio cordis) recently with the passing of a Cornell lacrosse player that was hit in the chest with a shot during a game. The NCAA is actively involved in researching the cause and preventing the loss of life from commotio cordis.

We as Texans need to be concerned with these bills because commotio cordis affects young people from age 13-18 the most. In terms of danger of commotio cordis, baseball is the most dangerous sport followed by softball, hockey, football, soccer, then lacrosse. Let's face it: this list includes too many of the sports that we like to watch our kids play. Let's make it safer for them.