Hospital da Luz Coimbra offered an automated external defibrillator (AED) to União de Coimbra (Clube União 1919), an institution with 102 years of existence. The initiative falls within the scope of Hospital da Luz’s support to sports practice in safety conditions and will allow this club to apply for certification by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The delivery of the equipment to the direction of the club was done by Pedro Beja Afonso, the Hospital da Luz Coimbra administrator, last April 30. The AED is an equipment used in case of cardiorespiratory arrest – one of the major causes of death in the world –, to restore or regulate the heart rate. The Basic Life Support (BLS) manoeuvres and the resort to an AED enhance significantly the chances of survival of the victims, when initiated in the first few minutes after cardiac arrest. However, the majority of the population is unfamiliar with these manoeuvres. In connection with the offer, Pedro Beja Afonso highlighted: “We are very happy to contribute to the process of certification of União de Coimbra. Hospital da Luz Coimbra has a program of Sports Medicine, which, besides potentiating a better rehabilitation of athletes, aims to promote a safe sports practice. With the AED, União de Coimbra is now prepared to ensure its athletes an immediate and decisive approach, in case of cardiorespiratory arrest”. Fernando Soares, the president of the board of União de Coimbra, thanked and commended the partnership that has allowed the delivery of equipment: “This represents added value for the club. Although the automated external defibrillators are not yet legally mandatory in sports grounds with a capacity under 5 thousand people, we consider it an essential element for the improvement of safety among our athletes, trainers and officials, as well as all those daily attending our premises”. In the modalities of football and futsal, União de Coimbra counts with 435 athletes, distributed by nine levels, which compete in the district and national championships of Coimbra Football Association and the FPF, respectively. Hospital da Luz Coimbra has been establishing several partnerships over the last years with clubs and modalities in Coimbra, with the purpose of promoting the practice of sports among the younger generations and also allowing access to a diversified and specialized offer of services and health professionals.
