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While an autopsy has yet to be conducted, Kut said physicians indicated cause of death was likely a heart attack.

Caspick had just turned 52, and is survived by her husband, three children and three grandchildren. She lived in west Saskatoon with her husband and youngest son, age 14.

Kut described her as a caring, gentle mother and grandmother.

“She was always happy,” she said. “No matter what she was going through, she always tried to see the good in people.”

Friends of Kut’s family are currently raising money to pay for her funeral costs.

It isn’t certain what caused Caspick to fall, or whether an AED could have saved her, but Kut wonders if things could have happened differently — or what would happen if a similar incident took place in the mall today.

“I got really frustrated when I heard. I had to leave and go outside. I was really in shock,” she said.

“I think at least one person in every store should know how to use it.”

When administered alongside CPR in the three minutes following cardiac arrest, an AED can reduce the risk of death by as much as 75 per cent. Health Canada estimates 45,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest in Canada each year.

Over time, AEDs have become less expensive and more common. More than 1,100 businesses and community organizations in Saskatoon have on-site AEDs under the Saskatoon Heart Safe Program, which estimates the devices have saved 35 lives since the program launched in 2005.

The mall is not listed among participants in the Heart Safe program. Market Mall, Midtown Plaza and Lawson Heights Mall are participating shopping centres, according to the Heart Safe listings.