While many avoided the snow, nearly 300 people convened Thursday for the Cabarrus County EMS Hearts & Heroes event. The event reunites cardiac survivors and the teams that performed life-saving interventions. The celebration took place at the Laureate Center in Kannapolis. A national model for cardiac care. When Cabarrus County EMS began implementing a new cardiac arrest response program seven years ago, it saw a dramatic change in patient results. In 2019, Cabarrus County reached a 32% survival rate for patients who experienced a witnessed cardiac arrest. This is one of the nation's highest such rates--nearly double the national average. The program uses a "pit-crew" type approach with defined roles for telecommunicators, first responders and EMS responders who respond to incidents.