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
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Adventure Unlimited take order of Defibtech AEDs
Adventure Unlimited have taken delivery of some brand new Defibtech AEDs, replacing their previous AED solution, which weren't suited to the the rigorous conditions that they often work in.
Adventure Unlimited specializes in offering first aid teams to hard to reach places. They have experience caring for casualties in mountainous areas and have organized evacuations by the fire-services and helicopters. Their teams carry advanced life support, including portable heart defibrillators, O2 units, plus VHF radio handsets. They have our own mobile first-aid van, with a VHF base-station.
All the team members are adventure athletes, and have competed to a high level in mountain races. We are therefore able to reach emergencies quickly and effectively, regardless of terrain or distance.
On adventure races, they pride themselves on getting to an accident site in the quickest time possible. They have experience coordinating their services with local private or voluntary EMS providers and have worked with HKAmbulance Service, AMS and St.John's. They have worked together as a coordinated team on many races in varying conditions.
Their service also includes pre-site checks, action plans, evacuation-plans, course sweeping, de-rigging and finding missing competitors.
The team members are carefully selected for their "hands on" approach to first aid and crisis management and can really make a difference in an emergency.
Premier races in Hong Kong, including Action Asia and King Of The Hills, put their trust in Adventure Unlimited, that should there be an accident, they will be the first to react and do whatever it takes to resolve the situation in a beneficial way.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Across Hong Kong up to 20% of the population have some kind of CPR training.
This is great news for anyone who should be involved in a CPR emergency as it means that for every 10 people you see, two of them have the ability to save a life.
If you know a little CPR, then you can easily use an AED. The use of an AED drastically increases the chance of recovery from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and as AEDs become more acceptable across society their potential to save lives will increase.
Every community, without exception has benefitted from the introduction of AEDs, and Hong Kong and China will be no different. ASM's 4hour, CPR/AED training course specializes in intergrating the AED into pre-existing CPR training.
If you know a little CPR, then you can easily use an AED. The use of an AED drastically increases the chance of recovery from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and as AEDs become more acceptable across society their potential to save lives will increase.
Every community, without exception has benefitted from the introduction of AEDs, and Hong Kong and China will be no different. ASM's 4hour, CPR/AED training course specializes in intergrating the AED into pre-existing CPR training.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Defibrillators TRUE or FALSE ?
You can be sued for using a defibrillator - FALSE
This is a complete myth, no-one has ever been sued for using a defibrillator anywhere in the world.
You can be sued for not having a defibrillator in your place of work, public area etc - TRUE
This is absolute fact. Even though there are no such cases which have been to court here in HK yet, anyone who has a business that employs staff or interacts with the general public is liable to a large lawsuit if someone suffers from an SCA on their premises. It is just as matter of time.
Defibrillators haven't saved anyone I know before, so they can't save anyone in the future - FALSE
Completely false, as soon as defibrillators are introduced into communities they start saving lives, even if they haven't been there in the past.
Defibrillators are just for old people - FALSE
Anyone can suffer from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Not just old people. SCAs can be caused by shock, electric shock, near drownings, falls or any number of accidents.
Defibrillators can save everyone whose heart has stopped - FALSE
Some people just die, defibrillators can improve a person's chance of recovery, but they can't start every heart.
If I use a defibrillator and the person does not recover I can get sued - FALSE
Totally false, no-one has ever been sued for a victim not being revived by a defibrillator. The unit also records all the data of the incident, so it can be shown that everything was done to try and save the victim.
It is impossible for a defibrillator to hurt someone - FALSE
If you pick up a defibrillator and smack someone around the head with it, it will probably hurt them, but it wont give them an electrical shock!
The defibrillator can only shock dead people - TRUE
Absolutely true, the units software can only advise a shock on someone who is dead, so what have they got to lose?
Our legal department advises us not to get an AED, and they know what they're talking about -FALSE
Legal departments are surprisingly ignorant about defibrillators in Asia and often know next to nothing about them. When considering getting a unit, ask your legal department for hard evidence on why you shouldn't get one.... you may be surprised to find that they can't produce anything.
p.s.. if they can produce something, please send it to us and we will publish it.
Defibrillators are expensive - FALSE
We at Asia Safety Management Ltd are the first in the region to offer these life-savings products at "published" affordable prices.
See our packages and costs page.
We don't need one because the emergency services are so good here - FALSE
It's true, ambulances are good, but they still operate well outside the optimum time for defibrillation. If you can use a defibrillator within less than 12 mins, preferably less than 4mins, then the chances of that person surviving are drastically increased.
An ambulances can usually get to an address within 18mins. Well outside the time window for recovery. The ambulance arrives just in time to bring out the body-bag.
NOTE: Ambulance times are recorded from the time they are despatched, until the time they reach the address, not the time they reach the casualty. Lifts, stairs etc.. all add on valuable time.
In the future defibrillators will be as common as fire-extinguishers - TRUE
This is actually a mis-leading fact, as comparing a defibrillator to a fire-extinguisher is a little unfair.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest kills more people than fire, car wrecks, handguns, cancer and aids combined. So it goes without saying that they will be more common than a fire-extinguisher.
Defibrillators are hard to use? - FALSE
This is a complete myth, no-one has ever been sued for using a defibrillator anywhere in the world.
You can be sued for not having a defibrillator in your place of work, public area etc - TRUE
This is absolute fact. Even though there are no such cases which have been to court here in HK yet, anyone who has a business that employs staff or interacts with the general public is liable to a large lawsuit if someone suffers from an SCA on their premises. It is just as matter of time.
Defibrillators haven't saved anyone I know before, so they can't save anyone in the future - FALSE
Completely false, as soon as defibrillators are introduced into communities they start saving lives, even if they haven't been there in the past.
Defibrillators are just for old people - FALSE
Anyone can suffer from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Not just old people. SCAs can be caused by shock, electric shock, near drownings, falls or any number of accidents.
Defibrillators can save everyone whose heart has stopped - FALSE
Some people just die, defibrillators can improve a person's chance of recovery, but they can't start every heart.
If I use a defibrillator and the person does not recover I can get sued - FALSE
Totally false, no-one has ever been sued for a victim not being revived by a defibrillator. The unit also records all the data of the incident, so it can be shown that everything was done to try and save the victim.
It is impossible for a defibrillator to hurt someone - FALSE
If you pick up a defibrillator and smack someone around the head with it, it will probably hurt them, but it wont give them an electrical shock!
The defibrillator can only shock dead people - TRUE
Absolutely true, the units software can only advise a shock on someone who is dead, so what have they got to lose?
Our legal department advises us not to get an AED, and they know what they're talking about -FALSE
Legal departments are surprisingly ignorant about defibrillators in Asia and often know next to nothing about them. When considering getting a unit, ask your legal department for hard evidence on why you shouldn't get one.... you may be surprised to find that they can't produce anything.
p.s.. if they can produce something, please send it to us and we will publish it.
Defibrillators are expensive - FALSE
We at Asia Safety Management Ltd are the first in the region to offer these life-savings products at "published" affordable prices.
See our packages and costs page.
We don't need one because the emergency services are so good here - FALSE
It's true, ambulances are good, but they still operate well outside the optimum time for defibrillation. If you can use a defibrillator within less than 12 mins, preferably less than 4mins, then the chances of that person surviving are drastically increased.
An ambulances can usually get to an address within 18mins. Well outside the time window for recovery. The ambulance arrives just in time to bring out the body-bag.
NOTE: Ambulance times are recorded from the time they are despatched, until the time they reach the address, not the time they reach the casualty. Lifts, stairs etc.. all add on valuable time.
In the future defibrillators will be as common as fire-extinguishers - TRUE
This is actually a mis-leading fact, as comparing a defibrillator to a fire-extinguisher is a little unfair.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest kills more people than fire, car wrecks, handguns, cancer and aids combined. So it goes without saying that they will be more common than a fire-extinguisher.
Defibrillators are hard to use? - FALSE
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