Since 2005two students have died on North Dakota school grounds as a result of cardiac arrest

And at the timethe schools did not have access to an AEDor automated external defibrillator.

Nowthanks to the North Dakota Legislaturemore than 300 public and private schools will receive an AED device.

An AED is about the size of a laptop computer that can deliver an electrical shock to a victim of cardiac arrest.

The shock may help the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.

Michelle Tipton of Beulah lost her 17-year-old son to cardiac arrest in 1999. She says her son was healthy and didn't show any symptoms of heart problems.

But Tipton says cardiac arrest can happen to anyone even healthy people.

(Michelle Tipton, Lost Son to Cardiac Arrest) "Our schools are community buildings and many times they probably hold the largest gatherings in our communities. Equipping schools with AEDs will provide the best chance for survival of a cardiac arrest. When an AED is available, within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from around four percent to seventy to eighty percent chance of survival."


Tipton says North Dakota is the first state to distribute A-E-D's to every school. She helped lobby the Legislature last spring for the money to buy them. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list