Brennan’s heart health bills to require AEDs at school athletic events & in state buildings move forward
Rep. Tim Brennan May 7, 2025 | 3:22 PM
High-res photos are available for download
HARRISBURG, May 7 – Two measures aimed at saving the lives of those experiencing cardiac arrest by making automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, more publicly accessible have advanced in the state House.
State Rep. Tim Brennan, D-Bucks, said he introduced the legislation because of the tremendous increase in survival rate an AED makes for a person in cardiac arrest, which he learned about shortly before he began his first term as a state legislator in 2023 after watching Damar Hamlin undergo commotio cordis, a rare cardiac event caused by a blow to the chest.
- H.B. 193, which would require an obviously displayed and regularly maintained AED in every state building, passed the House on May 5 with strong bipartisan support.
- H.B. 191, which would require schools to provide an AED at all interscholastic athletic events, advanced out of the House Education Committee today and is now eligible for consideration by the full House. The bill would also require schools to provide CPR and AED instruction to employees and volunteers, and to create a cardiac emergency response plan for them to follow.
Brennan said he crafted his legislation to address the fact that despite their success, AEDs are used outside of hospitals in only about 6% of cardiac arrests. These measures would get those numbers up, he said, by getting AEDs into spaces frequented by the public, and taking into account that about 2/3 of young people who undergo cardiac arrest do so on the athletic field.
Brennan spoke about H.B. 191 at an American Heart Association news conference on May 6 that called on lawmakers to support his bill and one similar proposed in the Senate.
“The chance of a person surviving untreated cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is only about 10%,” Brennan said. “But if a bystander uses an AED on them before emergency help arrives, their chance of surviving drastically increases – some medical experts even say it goes up to 90% for young people. It also reduces the chance they’ll suffer permanent brain damage from lack of oxygen.”
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QUICK FACTS ON CARDIAC ARREST:
- Sudden cardiac events are often fatal without immediate intervention, and AEDs are the most successful way to improve survival of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
- Someone who undergoes cardiac arrest in a public setting is twice as likely to recover if a bystander uses an AED. Public settings are the second most common places where people experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, behind homes and residences.
- Cardiac arrest can be caused by many different factors and can come on suddenly and unexpectedly. It commonly results from an undiagnosed heart condition.
- Most patients who undergo sudden cardiac arrest events like commotio cordis will not survive unless an AED is used while waiting for emergency response.
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The press event also featured Pittsburgh-area high schooler Spencer Davis and his parents, Jen and Dave. Spencer suffered commotio cordis after being tackled on the football field in September 2024. In her remarks, Jen Davis credited her son’s survival to Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School’s policy of having an AED available at athletic events, an action plan for responding to such emergencies, and the quick response of his school’s athletic staff.
The Davis family is working through their own foundation and with the NFL’s Smart Heart Sports Coalition on AED advocacy in Pennsylvania, along with Vince Williams, former linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Founded in 2023, the coalition is working to get all 50 states to adopt evidence-based policies like H.B. 191 that will help save the lives of high school athletes who suffer sudden cardiac arrest. So far, 14 states have adopted all three policies advocated by the coalition – and Pennsylvania is one of just eight states that have adopted none.
“As my fellow lawmakers and I seek ways to protect the health, safety and welfare of Pennsylvanians, being strategic about making lifesavers like AEDs more accessible is an obvious step for us to take,” Brennan said. “Both of these bills are reintroductions – my colleagues in the House passed them last year with bipartisan support. But the Senate let both expire without considering them. I’m hoping they’ll choose differently this year. As the Davis family earnestly reminded us, lives are depending on it.”