Public Defibrillator Use
Twice as Many Cardiac Arrests Treated With AEDs
Not only are defibrillators becoming a more common site in public places such as transportation hubs and stadiums, but new research also shows more people are actually using them to provide potentially lifesaving treatment for cardiac arrest victims.
Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are easy-to-use electronic devices that can help shock a cardiac arrest victim's heart back into rhythm. In cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops beating normally and cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
Cardiac arrests cause about 250,000 deaths each year, but the chances of survival increase dramatically if prompt treatment with an AED or CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is given within the first few minutes. (Brain death and permanent death can occur with in four to six minutes of cardiac arrest.)
To see if the campaign to increase public access to AEDs has prompted an increase in use of the devices in treating cardiac arrest, researchers tracked all cardiac arrest cases treated with public-access defibrillation from Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2002, in Seattle and King County, Wash.
Researchers found 1.3% of the 3,754 hospital cardiac arrest cases were treated with public-access defibrillators (PADs) during the course of the study. But usage rates are increasing rapidly.
"PAD was used in only a small proportion of all treated out-of-hospital arrests, but the proportion increased over time," says researcher Thomas D. Rea, MD, MPH, an epidemiologist at the Division of Emergency Medical Services, Public Health for Seattle and King County, Wash., in a news release.
Rea presented the results of the study this week at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2003 in Orlando, Fla.
The study showed that only 0.82% of the cardiac arrest cases were treated with public AEDs in 1999, but that number more than doubled to 2.05% in 2002.
In addition, researchers found survival rates among those treated with public AEDs were similar regardless of whether the victim was treated in or out of a hospital with the device, by trained medical personnel, or a non-trained bystander. Overall, about half of those treated with the AEDs survived, according to hospital discharge information.
"This survival rate is encouraging," says Rea, although he added that the study was not designed to determine whether public-access defibrillators improve survival.
Public Defibrillator Use on the Rise
Twice as Many Cardiac Arrests Treated With AEDs
Not only are defibrillators becoming a more common site in public places such as transportation hubs and stadiums, but new research also shows more people are actually using them to provide potentially lifesaving treatment for cardiac arrest victims.
Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are easy-to-use electronic devices that can help shock a cardiac arrest victim's heart back into rhythm. In cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops beating normally and cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
Cardiac arrests cause about 250,000 deaths each year, but the chances of survival increase dramatically if prompt treatment with an AED or CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is given within the first few minutes. (Brain death and permanent death can occur with in four to six minutes of cardiac arrest.)
More People Using Defibrillators
To see if the campaign to increase public access to AEDs has prompted an increase in use of the devices in treating cardiac arrest, researchers tracked all cardiac arrest cases treated with public-access defibrillation from Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2002, in Seattle and King County, Wash.
Researchers found 1.3% of the 3,754 hospital cardiac arrest cases were treated with public-access defibrillators (PADs) during the course of the study. But usage rates are increasing rapidly.
"PAD was used in only a small proportion of all treated out-of-hospital arrests, but the proportion increased over time," says researcher Thomas D. Rea, MD, MPH, an epidemiologist at the Division of Emergency Medical Services, Public Health for Seattle and King County, Wash., in a news release.
Rea presented the results of the study this week at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2003 in Orlando, Fla.
The study showed that only 0.82% of the cardiac arrest cases were treated with public AEDs in 1999, but that number more than doubled to 2.05% in 2002.
In addition, researchers found survival rates among those treated with public AEDs were similar regardless of whether the victim was treated in or out of a hospital with the device, by trained medical personnel, or a non-trained bystander. Overall, about half of those treated with the AEDs survived, according to hospital discharge information.
"This survival rate is encouraging," says Rea, although he added that the study was not designed to determine whether public-access defibrillators improve survival.
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