Reducing Sudden Cardiac Arrest Deaths (NAPSA)—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 powerto 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 whosuffer a witnessed incident of sudden cardiac arrest can surviveif 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. 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 andlifeguards. Newly developed AEDsoffer greater ease of use and are designed to allow trained laypersons to respond to cardiac emergenciesvirtually anywhere. Training programs are very Automatic external defibrilla- tors are designed to help minimally trained laypeople savelives. Unlike defibrillators intended for use by health professionals (and the ones most often seen on TV), AEDs are designedto allow nearly anyone with a minimal amountof training to respond to emergencies, particu- larly suddencardiacarrest. 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 howto operate the device. 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 cardiopulmonaryresuscitation (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 rescueror 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-AEDINFOorvisit www.aedhelp.com.
