The American Heart Association is presenting a free one-hour webinar aimed at youth sports coaches and league leaders to improve preparedness for sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes. The session focuses on establishing and strengthening Cardiac Emergency Response Plans, implementing safe play practices and providing practical guidance for responding to cardiac emergencies on the field.
The webinar is positioned as part of the Heart Association’s broader efforts to reduce deaths from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by equipping community members with the knowledge and resources to act quickly and effectively.
The webinar will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. CT. Advanced online registration is required. The article directs interested participants to register via the Heart of the Game Webinar registration page. No additional logistical details such as faculty list or continuing education credit were reported in the source.
Attendees will be instructed on several practical areas to improve emergency readiness within their leagues and programs, including:
Understanding the essential components of an effective Cardiac Emergency Response Plan, such as preparedness strategies, clear emergency action protocols and reliable AED access.
Identifying specific actions that coaches and sports leaders should take before, during and after a cardiac emergency to maximize athlete safety and streamline response.
Applying safe play practices and using available resources that help protect athletes and strengthen confidence among families and communities.
The session is designed to translate best practices into actionable steps that youth sports organizations can adopt to improve outcomes when cardiac emergencies occur.
The article states that sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death for student-athletes nationwide. It reports that nearly 75% of cases among young athletes occur in basketball, football and soccer players. National estimates cited in the article indicate more than 23,000 children under the age of 18 experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year, with about 40% of those events occurring among student-athletes.
The American Heart Association emphasizes the importance of rapid action: roughly 9 out of 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital do not survive, often because CPR is not started quickly enough. Acting immediately—initiating CPR and using an AED—can double or even triple a person’s chances of survival, according to the Heart Association.
The webinar will highlight core elements of an effective Cardiac Emergency Response Plan. These elements, as described in the article, include preparedness strategies, ensuring timely access to AEDs, and establishing clear emergency action protocols so that coaches and staff know roles and steps when an incident occurs.
Emphasis is placed on practical planning: creating protocols that specify who will perform CPR, who will retrieve and operate an AED, who will contact emergency medical services, and how to communicate with families and other stakeholders after an event.
The article references broader collaborations intended to improve cardiac safety for young athletes. In 2023, the NFL launched the Smart Heart Sports Coalition with founding members that include the NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL, NCAA and the American Heart Association. The coalition advocates for all 50 states to adopt evidence-based public policies aimed at preventing fatal outcomes from cardiac arrest among high school students.
The American Heart Association also notes ongoing work with the NFL Foundation to equip coaches with knowledge, resources and confidence to create safer environments for athletes and families.
The American Heart Association is described as a worldwide leader in resuscitation science, education and training and as the publisher of the official scientific guidelines for CPR. The organization frames the webinar as advancing the goals of its Nation of Lifesavers™ movement, which aims to double survival rates from cardiac arrest by 2030 through empowering more people to act in emergencies.
The article reiterates AHA statistics and guidance: rapid initiation of CPR and AED use are critical to improving survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The AHA provides additional resources on CPR, resuscitation science and community preparedness through its websites and programs.
Advanced online registration is required; the article directs readers to the Heart of the Game Webinar registration link. Media inquiries and public contact numbers are provided by the American Heart Association in the article: a media phone number and an AHA public information line. The source did not report speaker details, continuing education information, or post-webinar materials availability.