| Reducing Sudden Cardiac
Arrest Deaths
(NAPSI)-Every day, more
than 600 Americans suffer sudden cardiac arrest, which claims 250,000 lives
a year in the U.S.
alone. But now, easy to
use technology can put the power to save lives in the hands of ordinary
people.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)
is not the same thing as a heart attack, although a person suffering a
heart attack has an
increased risk of SCA.
While heart attacks occur when blood vessels clog and blood supply is cut
off from the heart,
sudden cardiac arrest is
actually an electrical problem that causes the heart to stop beating properly.
When SCA happens, blood
flow to the rest of the body stops. The victim will typically be unconscious,
have no signs of
circulation (e.g. no pulse),
and not be breathing. Unless the victim's heart is shocked into beating
properly again, death is
nearly certain. However,
recent studies have shown that up to 70 percent of people who suffer a
witnessed incident of
sudden cardiac arrest
can survive if a device called a defibrillator is used within three minutes.
Defibrillation is the only
known treatment for this condition and automatic external defibrillators
(AEDs) are the quickest
and most efficient way
to reach individuals with this life-saving therapy.
Unlike defibrillators intended
for use by health professionals (and the ones most often seen on TV), AEDs
are designed
to allow nearly anyone
with a minimal amount of training to respond to emergencies, particularly
sudden cardiac arrest.
AEDs are about the size
of a lunch box, with adhesive pads that deliver a livesaving pulse of electrical
energy to the
chest, interrupting the
abnormal rhythm and helping to restore the heart's natural rhythm.
The devices are pre-programmed
with the expertise needed to analyze the heart's electrical function. They
also use voice
prompts and pictograms
or screen displays to instruct the user on how to operate the device.
A wide variety of people
in the U.S. and around the world already use AEDs, including police and
security officers,
firefighters, athletic
trainers, flight attendants and lifeguards. Newly developed AEDs offer
greater ease of use and are
designed to allow trained
laypersons to respond to cardiac emergencies virtually anywhere.
Training programs are very
important though and only one AED manufacturer offers a training program
for home use.
Medtronic Physio-Control,
creator of the first fully automatic external defibrillator, offers the
LIFEPAK® CR Plus Home
Solution along with a training
program, registration, maintenance, medical direction, 24-hour hotline
and post event
counseling for family members.
After completing a short (usually four hours) training course that covers
both AED use
and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR), practically anyone can use an AED. When used properly and with appropriate
precautions, AEDs are simple
to operate and pose no risk to either the rescuer or the patient.
For more information on
starting a defibrillation program in your workplace or community, call
the National Center for
Early Defibrillation's
toll-free consumer resource hotline at 1-866-AED-INFO or visit www.aedhelp.com.
Automatic external defibrillators
are designed to help minimally trained laypeople save lives.
Links of interest:
Cardiac
Science, Inc |