Brian Duffield

Brian Duffield is a sudden cardiac arrest survivor. He ignored those subtle warning signs and had his SCA on May 23, 2006. He was extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Since then, Brian has been an advocate for SCA awareness and has worked in the automated external defibrillator (AED) space the last four-plus years.

Articles by Brian Duffield

• Sudden cardiac arrest: 10 years later

  Thursday, September 01, 2016

  I had my SCA on May 23, 2006. Like everyone else on the planet who has had an SCA and survived, it came as a huge surprise — especially at the age of 40. After the initial shock and disbelief, I endeavored to get closer to the SCA space. I've done talks around the country and have been employed in the automated external defibrillator (AED) space since 2011.

• Removing luck from the Chain of Survival

  Monday, April 06, 2015

  As good as the Chain of Survival is in the face of a sudden cardiac arrest, the success of the chain relies heavily on the performance of people — and to a lesser extent technology — for it to succeed. When you get down to the details, some of the folks in the chain are not professionals. Some of the professionals may be having a bad day, and the nature of technology brings a host of various challenges. The variables are myriad, and they all have to come together and work perfectly during an SCA.

• What is the weakest link in the Chain of Survival?

  Monday, March 09, 2015

  The critical few steps to perform during a sudden cardiac arrest to have the best chances of a good outcome are commonly known as the "Chain of Survival." They are to be performed in order, quickly and with lots of communication with those around the event.

• When it comes to SCA, subtle signs mean more than you think

  Friday, February 20, 2015

  It's widely reported that approximately 50 percent of the time, the first symptom of a person's heart issues is sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and/or death. I'm sure my case would have been reported as such when I had my own SCA in May 2006 when I was 40. However, six months prior I was having some subtle symptoms that, in hindsight, were telltale signs of my pending fate with an automated external defibrillator (AED).