The Frank Cowan Foundation is contributing its second $1 million donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, so it can add to its Automated External Defibrillator – or AED – Program.

The contribution will place an additional 200 AEDs and provide for AED and CPR training across Canada

The Frank Cowan Foundation is a charitable foundation that was activated in 1995 in honour of Frank Cowan, the company founder. The Foundation exists because of the success of the Cowan Group of Companies including Cowan Insurance Group, Frank Cowan Company, the Guarantee Company of North America and Millennium CreditRisk Management. Together they provide insurance and risk management products and services for individuals, businesses, organizations and public entities as well as assisting employers with their group benefits, retirement and health and disability management plans.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation says that up to 45,000 cardiac arrests occur each year in Canada. The odds of survival for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are approximately five per cent. With each passing minute the probability of survival declines by seven to 10 per cent. Using an AED, combined with CPR within the first few minutes can improve survival rates by 50 per cent or more.