In 2014, while asleep in his home, Dr. Kapil Pareek died from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). For almost 30 minutes, the 40-year-old surgeon had no heartbeat or brain function. He finally was revived, then recovered and returned few months later to care for his patients.
The statistics are astounding—every year, almost 400,000 Americans suffer SCA out of a hospital. Eighty percent SCAs occur in people's own homes where ninety-eight percent die. Vast majority of these few survivors are left with brain damage.
Part-memoir, part-public policy guide, To Live and Die in America is a rare account by an SCA survivor for the simple reason that very few live to tell their story. Dr. Pareek combines his personal experience with scientific evidence to show what changes are necessary to save tens of thousands of lives every year.
