Well placed public AEDs can save more livesPOSTED: September 2, 2009 at 6:02 pm BY: Jack - Editor |
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14-year-old Joshua Miller headed to the bench on the sidelines of the football field after making a play. Seconds later he collapsed. Coaches, medical personnel and parents ran to his side, fearing that he had suffered from dehydration or a concussion. By the time they realized that Joshua was in cardiac arrest, he was dead.
When a cardiac arrest occurs, the heart stops functioning. If the heart is not returned to its normal rhythm within 4 to 6 minutes, brain damage or even death may occur.
A study done by the American Heart Association shows that more than 200,000 Americans die each year from cardiac arrest. The study also shows that 50,000 lives might have been saved if the AHA-recommended Cardiac Chain of Survival would have been followed and a defibrillator would have been on hand.
CNN reports that heart experts from Johns Hopkins University found that at least 522 lives could be saved annually in the United States and Canada by placing AEDs all over.
An article in USAToday reports that Seattle, WA researchers studied over 1,700 high schools with AED programs. 83% had an established response plan in case of a sudden cardiac arrest. Around 40% of those schools reviewed and practiced plans with responders every year. Of the 36 instances of sudden cardiac arrest, 83% were administered an AED shock. 64% of the victims survived to be discharged from the hospital. Dr. Jonathan Drezner, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington-Seattle and the study's lead author, says that schools are a "strategic location for AED programs to serve large concentrations of people at risk for sudden cardiac arrest".
A Danish research team compared the locations of 104 AEDs placed in institutions around the city with a digitally map of the locations of all cardiac arrests that occurred in Copenhagen from 1994 through 2005. They found that only 10% of the city would need AED coverage to provide adequate assistance to 67% of all cardiac arrests. This was because most of the cardiac arrests happened in public or high-density areas like shopping centers, sports centers, & train stations.
Dr. Fredrik Folke, a cardiology research fellow at Gentofte University Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark and lead author of the study, remarks, "Our findings suggest that public access defibrillation programs should cover the greatest possible number of arrests in public, which is consistent with the recommendations from the American Heart Association".
Well placed public access AEDs, as well as a response plan, is essential to a high percentage of recovery for cardiac arrest victims. Public awareness and education are also important, since common people may well be the ones to ensure that the victim survives to receive treatment. Hindrances, such as fear that mistaken misuse of the AED could cause more harm to the victim (unlikely, since modern AEDs are, well, automatic as well as user friendly), would be removed.
We would like to hear from you. Tell us about a situation you saw or know about where an accessible AED made a difference, or general thoughts about public access AEDs and response plans. Please post your comments below.
