It’s called an AED – an Automated External Defibrillator. You’ve probably seen one or more hanging on the wall at an airport. You may have heard that some police cars and fire trucks have them. The FAA has mandated that all airplanes must now have them and in a few states, public schools are required to have them. They are suddenly appearing in the most unlikely places; malls, casinos, health clubs, golf courses, churches and even some funeral homes. If you read newspapers or watch TV you’ve heard of how AEDs are regularly bringing people back to life.
Sudden cardiac arrest kills more than 300,000 people each year in the US alone. Most of these deaths are due to an electrical malfunction in the heart known as ventricular fibrillation (V-fib). For those who sustain V-fib outside of a hospital and are fortunate enough to have someone try to resuscitate them, the outcome statistics are startling:
CPR Only (from a trained responder)……………………....…..2% Success Rate
Paramedic or Emergency Room Advanced Care……....…….5-15% Success Rate
CPR plus the use of an available, onsite AED..........50-75% Success Rate
The disquieting reality is that most of those who die from sudden cardiac arrest are in the prime of life and have little or no warning prior to their SCA event. For those who suffer V-fib, the medical evidence is now clear: the sooner the heart’s electrical system is “re-booted”, the better their chance of many more years of useful, productive and loving life. As good as they are Paramedics and EMS services can’t be everywhere fast enough. The solution to the growing dilemma of premature cardiac death is the availability and rapid application of an easy to use AED – a simple and inexpensive device that can help to protect and extend thousands of lives.
Despite the development and availability of now superior, pre-hospital EMS services as well as hospital emergency medicine and critical care assets, the outcome of medical emergencies is often determined, not by paramedics, emergency nurses nor cardiologist, but rather by co-workers, family members or other “bystanders” who are usually the first persons to detect and react to a medical emergency at home, at work or elsewhere in the community.
Recognizing that a problem exist, calling for help and the subsequent initial care actions of these “first detectors” is as essential to reducing the number of premature deaths and preventable disabilities as are the capabilities and proficiency of licensed and certified professionals who labor in the various links of the EMS System. Without a doubt, the EMS System begins with those who are first there and first to apply life-supporting care when a life-threatening emergency occurs.
Now, through the availability and use of this combination of medical science and computer technology, ordinary people who do not normally respond to medical emergencies can help to extend the life of someone with a “heart and brain too good to die.” AEDs have been proven to be safe, simple and highly successful. When used within 3-4 minutes they have produced a cardiac arrest survival rate of 50-75%. Moreover early fears of the “physical and legal dangers” of AEDs and concerns regarding their use have been shown to be unfounded.
AEDs Don’t Save Lives…AED Programs Do!
However, those who are first to detect and care for sudden cardiac arrest need to be much more than equipped with an AED.. It is only with proper preparation that average people are likely to have the skills and courage required to “take the AED off the wall and use it” as well as perform other essential life supporting actions should they ever be needed. For most people, developing and maintaining the ability to respond to the most daunting emotional situation that they will ever experience, certainly requires completion of a valid CPR/AED curriculum and access to a working AED. But proper preparation must also incorporate motivation, validation and the development of “I can do it” confidence and an “I will do it” attitude. Moreover, it also entails customized, detailed planning and ongoing oversight and support from qualified safety and/or health care professionals.
Preparation for acute medical emergencies certainly includes having a working AED device onsite and people who are trained how to use it, but it’s so much more.
