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Nearly 8,000 people die unnecessarily from cardiac arrests each year in Wales alone, a new report has revealed.

Heart rhythm charity Arrhythmia Alliance (A-A) says people who suffer cardiac arrest in Wales only have a 3% chance of survival compared with 50% in other parts of Europe.

In response the organisation is calling on the Welsh Government, politicians, healthcare professionals, emergency services and the public to take action in helping to save more lives lost to sudden cardiac death.

Someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest every six minutes in the UK

It has launched a new report, called “Now is the Time… for Action to Save Lives”, which highlights the importance of using CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED) which shocks the heart back to normal rhythm.

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Founder and trustee of A-A Trudie Lobban MBE said: “Every six minutes someone in the UK suffers a sudden cardiac arrest and their chance of survival is less than 10% – in Wales less than 3% – yet in many other countries this person would have a 50% chance of life .

“This has to change, so we have asked why is this happening and what can be done to save these lives.

“Our aim is that by 2020, 50% of people with a shockable heart rhythm will survive a sudden cardiac arrest in the UK.”

100,000 deaths every year

Up to 100,000 people die in the UK from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) each year – more than breast cancer, lung cancer, HIV and AIDs combined.

It is a condition in which the heart stops beating suddenly and unexpectedly due to a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system.

The malfunction which causes SCA is a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm called an arrhythmia.

A-A says the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest decreases by 10% every minute without defibrillation.

It says CPR on its own can save up to 10% of victims, but when an AED is also used, survival rates jump to more than 50% in people with a shockable heart rhythm.

Defibrillators in all Welsh rugby clubs

A-A works to support the placement of public access defibrillators and has set up specific campaigns to help increase the numbers of these life-saving devices in local communities.

Charity Welsh Hearts has recently worked with the WRU to try and install defibrillators into every rugby club in Wales.

Its aim is to provide a defibrillator to more than 200 clubs across the country by 2016.

Sharon Owen, the charity founder, said: “Unfortunately, there are not enough defibrillators in Wales or trained people to give victims the best chance of survival during those first few critical minutes. With more defibrillators we can provide a vital link in the chain of survival.”