Most conventional wisdom believes that after about three shocks, by a defibrillator, the chances of making a full recovery begin to decline. After all, this will mean the patient has been without a viable heartbeat for many minutes.
One thing that can extend this time is quick, efficient and persistent CPR. As we know, CPR serves to keep the muscles and organs of the body flushed with oxygenated O2 while the defibrillator tries to shock the heart back into its usual rhythm.
Below is an amazing story of a man who received 11 shocks before his heart restarted. It seems the fire-services' persistence really paid off. For me this is an excellent case highlighting a) how amazing defibrillators are and b) how effective CPR can be if used in conjunction with a defibrillator.
When used together, CPR and Defibrillators have amazing power to save a life!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/393609_medic25.html?source=mypi
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Latest Hong Kong News
With regards to the recent, unfortunate incident where a man died outside the Caritias Hospital in Hong Kong from a cardiac arrest, I would like to suggest that this is another case of where the widespread implementation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) may have helped to bring about a much better conclusion.
As you know, AEDs are the critical factor in whether a person is able to make a good recovery in an emergency that involves CPR. Time to defibrillation definitively determines the outcome of the situation. If this time is less than 12minutes, then the chances of death are 95%. The optimum time for defibrillation is within the first 4 minutes of collapse.
Legislation concerning AEDs is now the norm in almost every modern society, Considering Hong Kong’s prominence globally as a “world city” its lack of any legislation concerning AEDs makes it an exception to the norm compared with all other modern cities.
On top of this, the attitude towards AEDs in Hong Kong is often actively-hostile, with many companies or organizations believing that AEDs actually increase their liability. This is of course complete nonsense. For many reasons, too numerous to list here, AEDs significantly decrease liability, this has been resoundingly proven in any country that has adopted AED legislation. So, there is clearly a strong case for creating legislation here in Hong Kong. The widespread introduction of AEDs across the community will undoubtedly save lives from the moment it is instigated.
Increasing Education
Widespread AED legislation across Hong Kong would not only offer the essential equipment needed to save a life, it would also, more importantly, increase the public’s education about emergency situations. Right now, the trend by the American Heart Association is to make life-saving skills even more accessible, by making them simpler to remember and easier to perform. (Check out the new AHA guidelines for “Hand Free CPR”)
If all public places, sports facilities, hotels, shopping centres and managed properties had AEDs and large volumes of their staff were trained to use them, then it is quite possible that if a similar situation occurred like that at Caritias Hospital the receptionist would have been much better equipped to help in the situation. At the very least she could have directed the person to the nearest AED. AEDs are now that simple ANYONE CAN USE THEM, even an untrained person. Any notion that AEDs can only be used by medical practitioners is old, outdated and contrary to all guidelines laid out by CPR governing boards, globally.
It is important to not lose sight of the actual reality here, the Caritias situation has only come into the public domain because a person died outside a hospital, but every day people who could have been saved by the timely application of an AED die waiting for an ambulance, while receptionists, guards, police, friends and loved ones look on, powerless to help because AEDs are not available. The Caritas case is an extreme case, it is not however a rare case.
To conclude, AEDs save lives! They don’t do anything else. They are the only way to restart a person’s heart, this has always been the case, its not a new concept. The fact that a modern city like Hong Kong avoids adopting such an obviously important piece of life-saving equipment baffles anyone who has really taken the time to understand simple first aid.
As you know, AEDs are the critical factor in whether a person is able to make a good recovery in an emergency that involves CPR. Time to defibrillation definitively determines the outcome of the situation. If this time is less than 12minutes, then the chances of death are 95%. The optimum time for defibrillation is within the first 4 minutes of collapse.
Legislation concerning AEDs is now the norm in almost every modern society, Considering Hong Kong’s prominence globally as a “world city” its lack of any legislation concerning AEDs makes it an exception to the norm compared with all other modern cities.
On top of this, the attitude towards AEDs in Hong Kong is often actively-hostile, with many companies or organizations believing that AEDs actually increase their liability. This is of course complete nonsense. For many reasons, too numerous to list here, AEDs significantly decrease liability, this has been resoundingly proven in any country that has adopted AED legislation. So, there is clearly a strong case for creating legislation here in Hong Kong. The widespread introduction of AEDs across the community will undoubtedly save lives from the moment it is instigated.
Increasing Education
Widespread AED legislation across Hong Kong would not only offer the essential equipment needed to save a life, it would also, more importantly, increase the public’s education about emergency situations. Right now, the trend by the American Heart Association is to make life-saving skills even more accessible, by making them simpler to remember and easier to perform. (Check out the new AHA guidelines for “Hand Free CPR”)
If all public places, sports facilities, hotels, shopping centres and managed properties had AEDs and large volumes of their staff were trained to use them, then it is quite possible that if a similar situation occurred like that at Caritias Hospital the receptionist would have been much better equipped to help in the situation. At the very least she could have directed the person to the nearest AED. AEDs are now that simple ANYONE CAN USE THEM, even an untrained person. Any notion that AEDs can only be used by medical practitioners is old, outdated and contrary to all guidelines laid out by CPR governing boards, globally.
It is important to not lose sight of the actual reality here, the Caritias situation has only come into the public domain because a person died outside a hospital, but every day people who could have been saved by the timely application of an AED die waiting for an ambulance, while receptionists, guards, police, friends and loved ones look on, powerless to help because AEDs are not available. The Caritas case is an extreme case, it is not however a rare case.
To conclude, AEDs save lives! They don’t do anything else. They are the only way to restart a person’s heart, this has always been the case, its not a new concept. The fact that a modern city like Hong Kong avoids adopting such an obviously important piece of life-saving equipment baffles anyone who has really taken the time to understand simple first aid.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Defibtech becomes the preferred AED for Mandarin Oriental Hotels Group
Based on excellence in design, training and after sales service, Mandarin Oriental Hotels Group(MOHG) has chosen Defibtech as their preferred AED providers.
MOHG sets the standard for luxury hotels globally and will be instigating a program to equip all its hotels with multiple Defibtech AEDs in 2009.
For more info about MOHG visit their website here : www.mandarin-oriental.com
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