Jesus Jolt

Flight attendants have them; so do at-risk heart patients. They're portable defibrillators and they are saving lives. Sounds like something the church could use when sliding into lethal lethargy.

Len Umina was in a mood to buy.

He was particularly interested in the HP Forerunner. Sounds like an SUV. It's not. It's a portable defibrillator.

Now he can't live without it - literally. Len's a 46-year-old venture capitalist who never leaves home without a textbook-sized defibrillator - a miniature version of the devices found in every emergency room and ambulance.

The machine comes with user-friendly instructions, so that if Len's heart decides to stop while he's at his desk or on the streets, a colleague or passerby can easily revive him with a jolt. If you've watched ER, you know the drill: Charge! ... Clear! ... Contact! ... Ker-pow!

"You read how shootings like the ones at Columbine High School are a great danger to society," says Len, "But heart attacks are a much more real risk than these crackpots popping you off."

The man's got a point: Each year, 250,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest, many with no prior signs of heart disease. So, if you really want to reduce your ...