San Diego Chargers defensive lineman Corey Liuget is tackling heart disease during ‘Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month’
Corey Liuget may tackle people for a living, but the San Diego Chargers defensive linemen tackled his fiercest opponent off the field.
In 2012, the Liuget family excitedly anticipated the birth of its first child. The prospect filled the family’s days with exhilaration. However, the joy quickly faded a mere two weeks after the birth of Corey Jr. as the sobering reality of their son’s health became evident.
Young Corey Jr. was born with a serious heart defect. The devastating turn of events pulled the rug out from the first time father.
“When I first found out that my first child was going to have a heart condition, it caught me off guard. To be completely honest, it scared the heck out of me,” Liuget told The Rich Eisen Show.
His son was born with both an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) and a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).
“He had holes on the bottom of his heart and the top of his heart was open. They did the surgery when he was six weeks old….To have a surgery that young, to have (my son’s) ribcage cracked open, so the doctors can go in and operate kind of scares you,” Liguet told The Rich Eisen Show.
Even against the scariest foes, the Liguet family remains steadfast.
Four years removed from the lifesaving surgery, Corey Jr. is a happy and healthy young boy. In fact, he now has two younger sisters to run around with. According to doctors, he should not experience any physical limitations, although he will need regular checkups.
As a result of his family’s life-altering experience, Liguet recently announced his partnership with the American Heart Association to raise awareness and money for cardiovascular disease research.
Liuget is excited about the new and unexpected direction in his life.
“I’m teaming up with people who care about the future. They care about tackling this cardiovascular disease that is affecting a lot of America’s youth and older people. It just means a lot to me that we care about this problem and they’re attacking this problem and trying to solve it.”
Accordingly, Liuget’s campaign to raise awareness is saving lives. Although there is a long way to go, the tide is beginning to turn.
The month of October is Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month. Sudden cardiac arrest [SCA] is a cardiovascular condition where the heart suddenly and unexpected discontinues beating. Overall health and age are not predetermining factors for this condition because it can effect anyone at any time.
SCA is an issue that does and could affect any one of us.
Even more distressing are the statistics. The American Heart Association reports that approximately 424,000 EMS-assessed, out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (medical lingo for SCA) take place each year.
The overwhelming majority of SCA incidents are fatal. The chances of surviving are reduced approximately 10 percent for every minute that defibrillation is delayed, according to the American Red Cross. Meanwhile, after 9-1-1 is called, the average response time for first responders is approximately 8-12 minutes, according to the American Red Cross.
The most important prevention technique is knowing what to do when SCA happens, as well as having the appropriate tools.
Performing CPR can temporarily provide oxygen and blood flow in an SCA victim once the heart stops beating. If CPR is performed within the first few minutes of sudden cardiac arrest, it can double and possibly triple the victim’s chances of surviving, according to the American Heart Association.
If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is nearby, it provides a victim with the best chances of survival. An AED is incredibly easy-to-use and provides users with step-by-step voice prompts that deliver easy-to-follow instructions for using the medical device. The device checks a potential victim’s heart rhythm, diagnoses when a rhythm requires a shock and prompts the user to shock at the necessary time.
While all of these statistics may be a bit unnerving, the good news is the level of awareness is rising. A cursory search of recent headlines in just the past 48 hours reveals:
- Indiana University donated 15 AED’s to the Indiana State Police and pledged to provide more AEDs before the end of the year.
- The Upper Allen Township in Mechanicsburg (Pa.) received a new AED as a donation from the Peyton Walker Foundation, which is named after a local teen who passed away from SCA in 2013.
- Crawford County in Michigan received 10 new AEDs as the result of a grant.
- A high school student in Knoxville (Tenn.) is alive today as a result of fast acting teachers who saved his life with an AED.
- The Eric Paredes Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act was signed into law by Governor Brown in California.
Liuget hopes theses news stories are just the beginning as he tackles his fiercest opponent off the field by paying it forward and in the process, saving lives.
SEE ALSO: One very luck Western New York high school football player is saving lives with CPR & AED training
Photo courtesy of Chargers.com