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Benefits of Having Portable Defibrillator in Your Community

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

At any given moment a person you are walking behind can collapse in front of you. Will you be prepared to assist someone who is dying right in front of your eyes? Are you even aware of the box with the lightning bolt or big red letters ‘AED’ hanging on the wall?

In your community there should be AED’s. They are a device which delivers a shock of electricity specifically to the heart. If none are available, contact your local government and petition for AED’s. These devices are vital to the survival of a cardiac arrest. Every 4 seconds someone in the United States has a cardiac arrest. The odds of someone you know experiencing a heart attack this year are great. Rural communities who endure complications from understaffed EMS systems and elongated travel times to cardiac hospitals desperately need AED’s.

Simplicity has been incorporated by the manufactures. You do not need to be a healthcare worker to use and potentially save someone’s life, on possibly the worst day of their life. There is no other alternative to making a difference. Defibrillators are a necessity at community sports centers, schools, and public buildings. Some areas have AED’s in the back of the police cruisers because they are just that vital for potentially surviving a cardiac arrest.

The defibrillator pads are placed on the victim’s chest, one on the upper right and one on the lower left towards the end of the rib cage. The machine then reads the electrical activity of the heart. If two specific rhythms are detected the machine will speak to you and tell you “shock advised.” Simplicity in a moment when the whole world has stopped while the emergency rages forward, with a voice which guides you through a situation you never can be totally prepared to deal with.

CPR is very important. The body needs oxygen so the wonderful mysteries of life can proceed. CPR is designed to step-in when the heart tries to step-out. Ventricular Fibrillation and Ventricular Tachycardia are the only shock-able rhythms. Ventricular Fibrillation is where the hearts cells which normally act as one unit start anarchy and decide to override each other. This creates a quivering of the heart and no blood can move throughout the body. Ventricular Tachycardia is similar though this is where the bottom half is firing off so fast that the heart cannot refill to push blood through the vessels. Electricity is the number one choice in emergency rooms and is available for your use if you have a defibrillator available to you. Get involved in your community and save a life. The benefits of having a portable defibrillator in your community could be a matter of life or death. Take the time to make a difference in your state.

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Posted in Defibrillators, Survival Stories

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Implantable Defibrillators for High Risk Patients

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Modern implantable defibrillators have been designed to perform a multiple of functions: record the heart’s pulse rate, treat ventricular arrhythmias and stop ventricular arrhythmias and act as a pacemaker. This is a new medical invention that performs a lot of functions at the same time. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are not used to cure heart diseases, they make a person’s life better and longer than if the devices were absent in the patients’ bodies.

Patients who have ventricular arrhythmias will be in a good position to benefit from ICDs because this condition will be treated. It is important to note that the ICDs do not usually prevent ventricular arrhythmias but it treats the conditions instantly. Patients suffering from this disease benefit a lot when they have this implant because it adds more years into their lives and allows them to participate in a lot of activities.

Arrhythmia can be treated and also stopped once it is occurring. The ICD will deliver energy shocks to the heart in response to restore the normal rhythm of the heart. Patients who are awake describe the shock as painful and it is like someone kicked them on the chest. Another way of stopping this fatal condition from killing the patient is anti-tachycardia. This method starts a series of about five to ten beats that are paced and increases until the heart has restored the normal rhythm. This is painless and patients usually do not realize the ICD is working but they might feel a rupture of palpitations.

Patients who have rapid heart rates suffer from atrial fibrillation. This is also another condition that needs an implanted defibrillator. The condition is different from ventricular arrhythmias and it will not need a shock but a slowed down pulse rate which the ICD can perform. The best thing with an implanted defibrillator is that it keeps a record of all the activities that the heart has performed. This information is retrieved by a doctor during the next visit and the doctor analyzes the conditions causing the abnormal rhythms and makes adjustments to combat the conditions.

The ICD also acts as a pacemaker but other pacemakers multitask like ICDs. It is very possible for patients who have arrhythmia to use other medications while the ICD is implanted. This will depend with the underlying cause of the condition among other factors. Patients who are at risk of suffering a severe heart attack will get the ICD. Heart functions that are severely reduced and prior heart attacks will only survive with an ICD because its response is fast and effective. The battery life of an ICD is designed to last for 3-5 years which is such a long period of time. After this time, the patient can go to the doctor and have another improved battery which will deal with the condition. The leads are transported to the heart through a vein. These insulated wires deliver electric charges from the ICD’s generator to ventricles where they are attached. A patient will have about 20 years added and more when the ICD has been implanted and frequent battery change.

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Three Things You Should Know Post-Cardiac Arrest

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

The most important factor following cardiac arrest is the quality of after care. After care should include proper use of medication, extreme monitoring of blood pressure, keeping blood sugar levels in normal range and making sure that cholesterol levels are carefully observed. Immediately after cardiac arrest, patients will be hooked up to an electrocardiogram for constant monitoring.

If there are underlying conditions such as diabetes, other precautions need to be followed to prevent further complications. There are three things that you should know that could contribute to death following cardiac arrest: 1) brain injury-caused by lack of oxygen 2) heart dysfunction-abnormal heartbeat or arrhythmia 3) inflammation of arteries or veins-high cholesterol may cause a heart attack where an immediate artery-opening procedure called angioplasty is required. In the event of arrhythmia, many patients also need to have a defibrillator implanted.

Brain injury occurs when there is a cessation of blood flow to the brain, as in the case when a victim falls into unconsciousness following cardiac arrest. That is why post cardiac care begins with immediate medical intervention to ensure that there isn’t any permanent neurological damage.

A defibrillator is an electronic device that is used to shock the heart following cardiac arrest. When cardiac arrest is caused by arrhythmia the device corrects the pattern of irregular heartbeats and returns the heart’s rhythm back to regular beats. When a patient suffers cardiac arrest- the heart is under attack, it beats out of rhythm. Under normal circumstances, the beat of the heart is controlled by an electrical sequence that signals the correct rhythm in the right atrium. The defibrillator is used to restore normal contraction rhythms, after cardiac arrest the heart is no longer capable of maintaining normal contractions- it delivers shock-waves directly to the heart.

It should be noted that a defibrillator is not the same as a pacemaker. It can be used in conjunction with a pacemaker when the heart no longer functions correctly. Patients with certain conditions such as coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure are the ones who benefit the most from a defibrillator. There are many health conditions which require that patient have a defibrillator implanted to prevent future cardiac episodes. Coronary artery or heart disease is a leading cause of all deaths related to cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest causes an interruption in blood flow to the heart. It’s characterized by the need to increased circulatory support by trained medical personnel immediately following the attack. Medical emergency treatment involves the use of a defibrillator to shock the heart back into rhythm, it’s critical in instances involving a loss of consciousness. The defibrillator is used to shock the heart until a rhythm is present. If medical efforts fail and heart beats are not re-established and there is no present after defibrillation and CPR, there is nothing else that can be done medically for the patient.

Research has shown that receiving immediate medical intervention and post cardiac care improves the chances of recovery and survival following cardiac arrest.

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Posted in Cardiac Arrest, Heart Disease

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Man on Metra Train Dies of Cardiac Arrest, A Defibrillator Might Have Saved His Life

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Chicago Metra Train

Chicago Residents are now debating whether the availablity of a defibrillator on the Chicago Metra Train might have saved a man that died from cardiac arrest on October 9th, 2009.

Two nurses rushed to assist Metra crew members who tried to help the 63-year-old Barrington Hills man with heart attack symptoms. They attempted CPR. Emergency responders who met the train at the Palatine station also tried to save the man, but died.

The tragic story quickly raised questions among some regular passengers and medical authorities, who questioned why the Metra trains, unlike passenger airplanes, don’t have defibrillators on board. It also came to light that neither the CTA buses and trains have them available.

Defibrillators are becoming more common on mass transit systems, not just in the United States but all over the world. Why a major transportation system like the Metra has thus far failed to provide AED remains a mystery.

What do you think?

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Study Suggests CPR Given In Hospitals Is Not Effective

Monday, July 6th, 2009

According to a study that was published in the New England Journal last year, CPR received in the hospital was ineffective. Only about 18% of patients survived and were able to leave the hospital after receiving CPR. The study also found that about a third of patients did not recieve potential life-saving defibrillator shock treatment within the recommended timeframe of two minutes after suffering cardiac arrest. The recommended guidelines for CPR is 100 compressions per minute. Many variables could cause a deviation from these guidelines and lower your survival chances if you were to suffer a heart attack in the hospital. Amazingly, defibrillators are not as accessible as they could be in the hospital and medical staff has to resort to old fashioned CPR.

Defibrillators save lives, they have helped increase survival rates outside the hospital and should be more effectively used inside the hospital. The New England Journal study found that african americans had a 25% lower surivival rate after suffering a heart attack in the hospital than other races.

If you are at high risk for a heart attack, you should either have a defibrillator stashed in your trunk, house or office. You may also want to consider showing your friends and family how to administer the defibrillator treatment if necessary. That defibrillator purchase you made can very well end up saving your life one day. Don’t rely on hospitals and medical staff alone.

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