PULLMAN – WSU women’s basketball Head Coach June Daugherty has been named the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association’s Coach of the Year.
Daugherty, a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), has been a visible public advocate for SCA awareness and prevention since returning to the sidelines.
SCA is caused by the sudden loss of electrical function of the heart and is a leading cause of death in the United States. SCA strikes more than 325,000 Americans per year and only about five percent of victims survive.
Daugherty is among that small percentage of SCA victims who survive, revived with the help of CPR and the shock of an automated external defibrillator (AED), and she has lent her support to SCAA by taping the organization’s first television public service announcement (PSA).
“Coach Daugherty’s story is both an inspiration and an instructive lesson in the importance of CPR, public access to defibrillators, screening and treatment,” said Chris Chiames, SCAA Executive Director. “The fact that she was back on the sidelines in Pullman this season is a remarkable achievement and we applaud her recovery and appreciate her support in taping the PSA.”
Chiames said that the PSA will air nationally on Fox Sports Regional networks as well as the extreme sports’ web-based www.fuel.TV.
SCAA is based in Washington, D.C., and is singularly focused on preventing sudden cardiac arrest deaths through improved access to CPR, defibrillation, screening and treatment. It has a growing network of chapters and affiliates, and grassroots membership in more than 40 states.
For more information, visit the organization’s Web site at www.suddencardiacarrest.org.
