WASHINGTON – President Clinton has signed legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins that is intended to improve the survival rates of individuals in small and rural communities who suffer cardiac arrest.

The Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act of 2000 would authorize $25 million per year over three years to be given as grants to community partnerships involving local emergency responders, police and fire departments, hospitals and other community organizations. The money would be used to help purchase automated external defibrillators and train potential responders in their use, as well as in basic CPR and first aid.

According to two recent studies, survival rates of those treated almost immediately following cardiac arrest with AEDs were markedly higher than those who were not debribrillated fast enough.

“I’m delighted to see the bill signed into law,” said Collins. “The sooner we can get AEDs into the communities where they’re needed, the better.”

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death both in the state of Maine and in the United States,” the senator said.

“According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 250,000 Americans die each year from cardiac arrest. Many of these deaths could be prevented if automated external defibrillators were more accessible.”

AEDs are computerized devices that can shock a heart back into normal rhythm and restore life to those suffering cardiac arrest. They must, however, be used promptly. For every minute that passes before a patient’s normal heart rhythm is restored, his or her chance of survival falls by as much as 10 percent.