Help for a Heart Attack!

The American Heart Association and the Center for Disease Control both state that Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in Adults in America. In 2006 the number of deaths caused by heart disease was 631,636. That’s 26% of adult deaths in 2006. Every year about 785,000 Americans have their first heart attack; another 470,000 who have already had one or more heart attacks have another attack.

But what if there was a way that we could get vital care to a patient that has suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). According to a study by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology heart attack victims that receive immediate external defibrillation have twice the survival rate as those that do not. Hospitals and doctors are already very aware of the value of defibrillators in the hospital setting. But until recently patients had to wait until the Ambulance came to them.

The most important time to defibrillator a heart that has gone into ventricular fibrillation is the first 3 to 5 minutes. Although cities do not give statistics on 911 response time, independent studies show the quickest response times between 6 and 10 minutes. With all the advances that have been made in medicine in the past years, it seems inconceivable that the leading cause of death is something that, when treated promptly, can have a 50% survival rate. The problem seems, then, to be in the response time.

Cardiac Arrest is the disruption of cardiac function, the heart stops. Ventricular Fibrillation is when the normal electrical activity of the heart is replaced by chaotic electrical activity that causes the heart to stop pumping blood. Medical defibrillators deliver a shock directed at the heart muscle to revive the heart.”

 The Phillips On-Site Defibrillator removes these risk factors. By monitoring and evaluating the patient, defibrillation is only allowed by the unit if it detects that defibrillation is required.

There are only a couple of types of defibrillators that allow for non-medical personnel to employ, but the Phillips EAD defibrillator is the only one that is sold without a prescription. The Phillips on-site defibrillator also comes equipped with clear voice prompts to give instruction to its use in an emergency.

It’s only been recently that laws are being made that require provision of defibrillators in public areas. They’re already required to be provided by public schools that have a sports program, dentist offices, gyms, and in assisted living facilities. Soon, as news gets around, we’ll be seeing them in all kinds of places like malls, restaurants, and work sites.