David never knew he had a heart ailment and neither did I. David's cardiologist told me that if he had ever had a heart screening his condition would of been found instantly and the chances of him suffering a near fatal Sudden Cardiac Arrest would of been lowered. He had a sports physical two months before this tragedy. The sports physicals just don't cover enough area and they leave families with a false sense of security that everything is ok. With more awareness and pre-screening I truly feel in my heart we can change the statistics. --Lawrence, David's Dad

The 20 Hearts Foundation for David Gurganious (aka 20 Hearts) was born of a near-tragic incident that took place on February 2, 2010. While playing in a basketball game at El Cerrito High School, David, my 16 year old son, collapsed and stopped breathing. Michael Booker, his coach and local police officer, along with Dan Rice, a parent who happened to be an off-duty fireman, recognized that David had suffered SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) and immediately began to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

At the time, El Cerrito High School did not have an AED (automated external defibrillator) on campus, so CPR, manual rescue breathing and chest compressions, was their only course of action until the paramedics arrived. Once on the scene, the paramedics used a portable defibrillator to shock David's heart twice, in order to get a pulse. After waking up in the hospital 3 days later, David showed no signs of physical or neurological damage. David is truly blessed to fall in the mere 5% of people who actually survive SCA.

MISSION: To bring awareness to surrounding communities about unforeseen and potentially life threatening heart conditions.

GOALS: Heart screenings, training in CPR and AED for children and adults and installing AED units at public facilities are all preventive measures that we strive to provide to our community. We also seek to offer support to individuals and families who have heart conditions, have suffered SCA or have lost loved ones as a result of SCA.

MESSAGE: It is my duty to help make a change.

"If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible." --Leviticus 5:1

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