Defibrillators in public places can save lives
Higher cardiac arrest survival rate with portable device, research finds
updated 12:55 p.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 6, 2007
CHICAGO - Fans of TV emergency room dramas already know the drill: shout
"Clear," place the paddles on the chest and watch the lifeless heart patient
revive.
When that drama takes place in an airport or shopping mall, bystanders using
battery-powered defibrillators may be saving more than 500 lives every year
in the United States and Canada alone, researchers reported on Monday.
"Good Samaritans, when given access to automated defibrillators in
potentially fatal emergencies, save lives," Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, a
cardiologist at <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21654200/> Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
The devices are designed to treat sudden cardiac arrest, a potentially
deadly event in which the heart stops contracting and fails to pump blood
properly.
The laptop-sized, portable defibrillators come with a full set of
instructions, guiding even untrained bystanders through the rescue process.
Once electrodes are placed on the victim's chest, the machine analyzes the
person's <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21654200/> heart rhythm and delivers
a shock if needed.
The study, conducted in 11 cities in the United States and Canada, involved
an analysis of patient records from more than 10,600 incidents of cardiac
arrest called into 911 emergency telephone lines.
Bystanders administered CPR in nearly 30 percent of the cases and offered
CPR plus an automated defibrillator in 2.4 percent of the cases, Weisfeldt
told an <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21654200/> American Heart Association
meeting in Orlando, Fla.
"Only 259 patients had an AED applied by a bystander. Their survival is very
good. If they needed a shock and the device shocked them, they had a 36
percent survival rate. That compares to the overall survival rate of 7
percent," Weisfeldt said in a telephone interview.
Wider use needed
Because the automated defibrillators are in public places where people tend
to get fast emergency care, the researchers figure survival rates with a
defibrillator are about 2.5 times better than with CPR alone.
"If the same thing is going on in the rest of the United States, there may
be as many as 522 lives being saved by AEDs," Weisfeldt said.
He said the study makes the case for wider use of the devices.
"If you've got a building with 1,000 people and the cost of putting in the
device is $3,000, it means $3 per person is the cost of having it, which is
less than the cost of the latte I had this morning," he said.
About 300,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac death each year.
Higher cardiac arrest survival rate with portable device, research findsupdated 12:55 p.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 6, 2007
CHICAGO - Fans of TV emergency room dramas already know the drill: shout
"Clear," place the paddles on the chest and watch the lifeless heart patient
revive.
When that drama takes place in an airport or shopping mall, bystanders using
battery-powered defibrillators may be saving more than 500 lives every year
in the United States and Canada alone, researchers reported on Monday.
"Good Samaritans, when given access to automated defibrillators in
potentially fatal emergencies, save lives," Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, a
cardiologist at <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21654200/> Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
The devices are designed to treat sudden cardiac arrest, a potentially
deadly event in which the heart stops contracting and fails to pump blood
properly.
The laptop-sized, portable defibrillators come with a full set of
instructions, guiding even untrained bystanders through the rescue process.
Once electrodes are placed on the victim's chest, the machine analyzes the
person's <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21654200/> heart rhythm and delivers
a shock if needed.
The study, conducted in 11 cities in the United States and Canada, involved
an analysis of patient records from more than 10,600 incidents of cardiac
arrest called into 911 emergency telephone lines.
Bystanders administered CPR in nearly 30 percent of the cases and offered
CPR plus an automated defibrillator in 2.4 percent of the cases, Weisfeldt
told an <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21654200/> American Heart Association
meeting in Orlando, Fla.
"Only 259 patients had an AED applied by a bystander. Their survival is very
good. If they needed a shock and the device shocked them, they had a 36
percent survival rate. That compares to the overall survival rate of 7
percent," Weisfeldt said in a telephone interview.
Wider use needed
Because the automated defibrillators are in public places where people tend
to get fast emergency care, the researchers figure survival rates with a
defibrillator are about 2.5 times better than with CPR alone.
"If the same thing is going on in the rest of the United States, there may
be as many as 522 lives being saved by AEDs," Weisfeldt said.
He said the study makes the case for wider use of the devices.
"If you've got a building with 1,000 people and the cost of putting in the
device is $3,000, it means $3 per person is the cost of having it, which is
less than the cost of the latte I had this morning," he said.
About 300,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac death each year.
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