Dr. Prospero Gogo of Vermont urges Congress to invest in CPR and AED training, AED placement in schools
Dr. Prospero Gogo, professor of medicine and cardiologist at the University of Vermont, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to fund the lifesaving HEARTS Act — legislation designed to ensure every school is prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency. He joined the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, and advocates from across the country as part of the American Heart Association Heart Powered grassroots advocacy network.
On Capitol Hill, Dr. Gogo and fellow advocates shared their personal stories and calld on lawmakers to fund the HEARTS Act through the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process — turning lifesaving legislation into lifesaving action. The law, passed unanimously in 2024, created a grant program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help K–12 schools:
- Train students and staff in CPR;
- Purchase and maintain automated external defibrillators (AEDs); and
- Develop cardiac emergency response plans.
The program also supports research into cardiomyopathy and other conditions that cause cardiac arrest in youth.
Each year, more than 356,000 people in the U.S. experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, including more than 23,000 children. Every minute without CPR reduces the chance of survival by 10% — but quick action can double or even triple survival rates.
“Survival from cardiac arrest shouldn’t depend on luck or location,” said Dr. Gogo. “When people are trained and AEDs are within reach, a life that could have been lost becomes a life saved.”
The American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers™ initiative aims to double cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030. In Vermont, the Heart Association recently helped pass a law that will require cardiac emergency response plans in all Vermont schools and athletic venues, and we continue to advocate for access to AEDs and CPR education.
“By funding the HEARTS Act, Congress can help build a Nation of Lifesavers — one student, one school, one community at a time,” said Tina Zuk, region sr. lead of state government relations at the American Heart Association, Vermont. “This investment will ensure more people are ready to act in every classroom, school gym and hallway across the country.”
Advocates across the country can join the effort by texting ‘AED’ to 46839 to urge Congress to fund the HEARTS Act.