Harnessing technology to strengthen cardiac, stroke emergency response
Harnessing technology to strengthen cardiac, stroke emergency response
Publish Date: 2026-05-18 08:06:00
Source Domain: newsroom.heart.org
DALLAS, May 18, 2026 — When someone experiences cardiac arrest, a heart attack or a stroke, reliable communication between dispatch, EMS crews and receiving hospitals can mean the difference between life and death. Yet as mobile technologies — from telehealth platforms to mobile stroke units — rapidly transform emergency response, critical gaps in systems of care can arise, leaving lives in the balance.
To mark National EMS Week, the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, is launching an initiative to address those gaps directly and foster the best use of technology in emergency response systems of care. The Association will convene EMS agency leadership, hospital executives and public health partners to identify where technology can be better used to close critical gaps and produce recommendations to strengthen emergency response for the future.
Through this initiative, supported by T-Mobile, the Association will gather insights into emergency communication processes across agencies in 13 cities:
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Buffalo, New York
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Detroit, Michigan
- Houston, Texas
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- San Francisco, California
This new initiative will be integrated into the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS program to help systems of care work better together. Mission: Lifeline EMS engages more than 1,000 EMS agencies, building on an established national network of recognition and improvement. The initiative is part of the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers movement, a national effort aiming to double survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by 2030.
“When communication breaks down in the chain of survival, people die. This initiative translates our national mission into…
