The City of McKinney has installed more lifesaving equipment around the city, adding automated external defibrillators to its public parks.
Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are devices used to aid those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, according to the American Red Cross. Such devices can administer an electric shock to the heart to restore regular rhythm if necessary. It is currently the only way to restore a regular heart rhythm in the event of cardiac arrest.
A high body mass index has also been associated with multiple cardiovascular diseases and afflictions, including heart failure, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, and cardiac arrest, according to research conducted in 2021. With Dallas-Fort Worth named one of the most obese metro areas in the United States, more accessible AEDs could save more lives.
Denise Lessard, communications and media manager for the City of McKinney, said in an email that the city placed the devices in parks around the city, according to Community Impact. A total of 13 of the lifesaving devices were installed in sports and park facilities, including Finch Park, Towne Lake Park, Bonnie Wenk Park, and Erwin Park, among others.
The city acquired the new units from Dallas-based AED123, with which the city had a pre-existing partnership. The company previously provided McKinney with AEDs for other public spaces and municipal buildings, having already installed 40 units in the city’s libraries, city hall, basketball courts, tennis courts, aquatic centers, golf courses, boxing gyms, performing arts centers, and other locations, according to AED123’s website.
As with the previous units, AED123 is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep. Each one costs taxpayers $115 per month, meaning total costs will be approximately $18,000 annually.
“Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death among athletes, and the availability of AEDs can significantly increase the chances of survival,” Lessard said in the email, per Community Impact.
McKinney is not the only city adding lifesaving equipment to its public facilities. The City of Coppell recently announced that it would add bleed control kits and doses of Narcan to its own AED boxes around the city, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
