It’s a milestone 10th anniversary for the Steven M. Gootter Foundation.
The recap of the last decade: A heartbreaking loss galvanized a determined family and friends to create the Gootter Grand Slam Tennis Exhibition and Gala in order to raise funds to provide more than $2.5 million in research into sudden cardiac death syndrome.
Additionally, the foundation has donated more than 110 automated external defibrillators to the Tucson community; and offered outreach to tens of thousands of people statewide regarding chest-compression-only CPR.
“When a tragedy occurs to a family, sometimes you just want to bury your head in the sand. But for us, it was important for something positive to happen out of something really hideous. If we can save just one life, we want to believe there is some purpose in Steve’s early departure,” said Andrew Messing, president of the foundation inspired by his brother-in-law. “If we can do something positive out there in Steve’s name, it really makes a difference to all of us.”
Gootter was an athlete, entrepreneur and inventor who succumbed to sudden cardiac death 10 years ago at the age of 42.
Sudden cardiac death occurs when the heart stops working abruptly and without warning, preventing blood from being pumped to the rest of the body. It is caused by a malfunction of the heart’s electrical system; the most common cause is a heart rhythm disorder, or arrhythmia, called ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia.
Sudden cardiac death is the number one cause of natural death in the U.S and is responsible for half of all heart disease deaths, according to the American Heart Association.
The foundation developed a three-pronged approach to defeat sudden cardiac death: research into prevention and treatment; intervention with chest-compression-only CPR and defibrillators; and education and outreach to promote public awareness about sudden cardiac death and the importance of chest-compression only CPR.
“When you look at someone like Steve Gootter, he was an athlete who was in shape and doing all the right things. This cardiac event happened when he was out running and it really demonstrated how vulnerable we are, so it is important to develop tests so people like Steve will have a very different outcome,” Messing said. “It is the same thing with AEDs. A patrol car showed up when Steve collapsed, but it didn’t have an AED. If it had, there may been a very different outcome.”
Hence, Messing is particularly gratified about the foundation’s automated external defibrillators donation program.
The program initially targeted local nonprofits, recreation centers, schools, churches and places where people “work, worship and play.” Last year the foundation also began supplying portable defibrillators to area law enforcement agencies.
“Often police officers are the first responders, so they will arrive before the fire department with these life-saving devices,” Messing said. “For someone who experiences sudden cardiac arrest, it is critical to reach them within 10 minutes, so these mobile AEDs can really make a difference in the Tucson community.”
As for research, the foundation reached its initial goal of establishing the Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair for the Prevention and Treatment of Sudden Cardiac Death at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in 2012.
Additionally, it has funded more than 10 Steven M. Gootter Investigator Awards scientists at Sarver. These smaller-scale investigator grants — generally $25,000 to $50,000 — serve as “seed money” and have resulted in larger federal and private grants for several UA researchers.
Last year the foundation also provided two Investigator Awards to studies at Stanford University.
“They are developing a genetic test for early detection of heart defects and the goal is to have a cost-effective test for $40 or less that can test for SCD gene mutations,” he said.
In addition, the foundation gifted the Sarver Heart Center Resuscitation Laboratory $150,000 last year to pursue the latest techniques in improving survival following cardiac events.
Finally, the foundation is promoting outreach through one of Steve’s passions: athletic events.
Using the “Be A Lifesaver Campaign,” the foundation has reached out to provide education about chest-compression-only CPR at basketball games for both the UA Wildcats and the Phoenix Suns.
