PULSE.

Byline: Andy Wang

MATTERS OF THE HEART

In 1990, Hank Gathers, 23 years old and a rising star on the Loyola Marymount basketball team, collapsed during a game and died. Gathers had discovered only months earlier that he had an abnormal heartbeat, a condition that led to his sudden cardiac arrest.

The incident was no isolated tragedy. According to Los Angeles lawyers Stephen Solomon, Ralph Saltsman and Stephen Jamieson, the condition is the leading cause of death for adults 35 to 40 years old. The three partners have done considerable research on the subject since encountering a similar case involving the sudden death of a high school athlete, and are now campaigning for the availability of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in all public schools and buildings.

According to the American Red Cross, more than 200,000 Americans die every year of sudden cardiac arrest, and up to 50,000 of them can be prevented with immediate CPR and defibrillation. Without what's called the ``cardiac chain of survival,'' death is almost certain.

With AEDs starting at about $900 and requiring only basic training, the only barrier left to their ubiquitous deployment is ignorance, said the lawyers. The legal team is asking concerned parents and citizens to push school districts to invest in AED purchases and training. For a purchase that could literally be life and death, ``There's no reason why every public place and every school doesn't have (an AED),'' Solomon said.

For more information on sudden cardiac arrest and AEDs, visit www.redcross.org.

A spoonful of sugar ...

Helps the medicine go down. That's the idea behind Life Fitness' new omega-3 daily supplement.

Omega-3 has been linked in studies to reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, but supplements usually come in the form of fish oil capsules, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste. Life Fitness' omega-3 soft chews are orange-flavored; unfortunately the chews seem to have exchanged the fishy aftertaste for a chalky one. Still, for the anti-fish set, the orange chews may be the way to go for omega-3.

Another supplementary treat, their Rapid Energy line of chewing gum, fares better. The gum comes in spearmint and cinnamon flavors, and includes a dose of vitamin B-12 for that extra kick start in the morning. Informal office tests showed no boost in stamina, but taste was comparable to regular gum, so why not?

A bag of 30 omega-3 chews retails for $9.99, and a 12-pack of Rapid Energy gum retails for $2.49. Available at CVS/pharmacy locations and www.cvs.com.

FOR REAL GUYS: Men have needs. And one of those needs is to not be promised lean, sculpted abs by DVD fitness instructors who look like they were born with iron six-packs.

``Chubby Hubby Workout'' (On Air Video; $19.95) to the rescue. Subtitled ``Building a Better Husband,'' it stars the refreshingly hefty husband of a fitness instructor, and goes through 43 minutes of all the basics: stretching, aerobics, core training and flexibility exercises.

The workout also requires some decidedly manly props. Bring your basketball, soccer ball, baseball, football, baseball bat and a couple of sets of dumbbells. Iron six-pack optional. < Available in stores and online.

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(1) no caption (automatic external defibrillators)

(2) no caption (Everyday Omega-3)

(3) no caption (video: ``Chubby Hubby Workout'')