Cardiac Crusade launches Lexington AED mapping drive

Cardiac Crusade will launch its Cardiac CATS AED mapping campaign Friday in Lexington, Kentucky, aiming to verify more than 1,000 defibrillators across the Bluegrass by Valentine’s Day 2027. The effort is designed to put mapped AEDs into 911 dispatch networks and make nearby lifesaving devices easier for bystanders to find during sudden cardiac arrest.

Why it matters: - Out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest kills more than 350,000 Americans each year. - National survival averages about 10%. - Survival can rise to 90% when an AED delivers a shock within the first 60 seconds. - Communities with large AED mapping networks, such as San Diego, report survival rates of 50% to 70%. - Cardiac Crusade’s campaign aims to bring that model to Lexington and Fayette County.

What happened: - Cardiac Crusade will host the public launch party for the Cardiac CATS Lexington AED Mapping Campaign on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, on National Restart a Heart Day. - The event runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT at West Sixth Brewing, 501 West Sixth Street, Lexington, Kentucky. - Admission is free and open to the public. - The event will include survivor stories, remarks from medical leaders, CPR demonstrations, volunteer sign-ups and campaign recognition. - Free tickets, donations, volunteer registration and event details are available at More information.

The details: - Cardiac CATS is Cardiac Crusade’s grassroots volunteer network across the Bluegrass. - The campaign goal is to map and verify more than 1,000 AEDs across Lexington and Fayette County by Valentine’s Day 2027. - Verified AEDs become visible to e911 dispatchers and searchable on emergency apps. - Greg Coon, co-founder of Cardiac Crusade, said the organization’s volunteer network has already verified more than 12,000 AEDs nationwide. - Coon said that milestone statistically saves 18 lives each year. - Sarah Katzenmaier, a Lexington sudden cardiac arrest survivor, and Charlotte Callan, a CPR responder, are spearheading the local campaign. - On Oct. 24, 2021, Katzenmaier collapsed during Lexington’s downtown Thriller Parade outside the Kentucky Theatre. - Callan, then a UK HealthCare team member and pre-med student, performed continuous chest compressions for nearly 10 minutes until first responders arrived. - Callan later received the Spirit of Lexington Award and a city proclamation for Charlotte Callan Day. - Katzenmaier said the Kentucky Theatre did not have an AED at the time of her collapse, though manager Fred Mills has since installed one. - Katzenmaier said the campaign started this year with 25 verified AEDs in Lexington and now has more than 125. - The campaign’s new target is more than 1,000 verified devices so every neighborhood has an active safety net.

Between the lines: - The campaign is not just about counting devices; it is about making AEDs usable in real emergencies by getting them into dispatch systems and public search tools. - The push reflects a broader public-safety gap: many communities have AEDs nearby, but bystanders and dispatchers do not know where they are. - The survivor-led framing gives the campaign a personal urgency that could help drive volunteer recruitment and business participation.

What's next: - Organizers want local businesses, gyms, churches and storefronts to register AEDs through the campaign site. - Volunteers can become “Cardiac CAT” AED verifiers by completing a free 25-minute online training module. - Verifiers receive campaign apparel and field kits after training. - Donations will support AED wall signage, public mailers, outreach and volunteer verification supplies. - Cardiac Crusade is directing people to the campaign hub at More information and to its donation page at Donate to the campaign.

The bottom line: - Lexington’s AED map push is trying to turn hidden defibrillators into a citywide emergency network before a bystander needs one.