Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.
AEDs are designed to be simple to use for the layman, and the use of AEDs is taught in many first aid, first responder and basic life support (BLS) level CPR classes.
If time to defibrillation is 10 minutes or more, virtually no one survives without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This increases to 10 to 20% if CPR is used. A speedy and effective response is required if the chances of survival are to be increased. |
Cardiac Arrest:
The cessation of the effective pumping action of the heart. The heart may be beating rapidly without pumping any blood, or it may have stopped beating entirely. Cardiac arrest is marked by an abrupt loss of consciousness, and the absence of breathing and pulse.
Many events may cause cardiac arrest, such as heart attack, choking, drowing, blood loss and several others. Early recognition that a cardiac arrest has occurred is key to survival - for every minute a patient is in cardiac arrest, their chances of survival drop by roughly 10%. For this reason, early CPR and immediate acces to an AED is essential to maximize chances of survival. |
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (C.P.R.)
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly called CPR, combines rescue breathing (one person breathing into another person) and chest compression in a lifesaving procedure performed when a person has stopped breathing or a person's heart has stopped beating.
Purpose:
When performed quickly enough, CPR can save lives in such emergencies as loss of consciousness, heart attacks or heart "arrests," electric shock, drowning, excessive bleeding, drug overdose, and other conditions in which there is no breathing or no pulse. The purpose of CPR is to bring oxygen to the victim's lungs and to keep blood circulating so oxygen gets to every part of the body. When a person is deprived of oxygen, permanent brain damage can begin in as little as four minutes and death can follow only minutes later. |
Defibrillation
Defibrillation is a process in which an electronic device sends an electric shock to the heart. Defibrillators deliver a brief electric shock to the heart, which enables the heart's natural pacemaker to regain control and establish a normal heart rhythm. The defibrillator is an electronic device with electrocardiogram leads and paddles. During defibrillation, the paddles are placed on the patient's chest, caregivers stand back, and the electric shock is delivered.
If time to defibrillation is 10 minutes or more, virtually no one survives without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This increases to 10 to 20% if CPR is used. A speedy and effective response is required if the chances of survival are to be increased.
In a Dublin study, the Mater Hospital Group found an overall survival to hospital discharge rate of 3.6% (13 out of 388 patients).3 In AED equipped sites, 7 out of 13 (54%) patients whom resuscitation was attempted survived to discharge. By contrast only 6 out of 375 (1.6%) survived arrest where an AED was not available. |
Heart Attack
Myocardial infarction (MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart is interrupted. This is most commonly due to blockage of a coronary. The resulting restriction in blood supply and oxygen shortage, if left untreated for a sufficient period, can cause damage and/or death of heart muscle tissue. |
