Posts Tagged ‘cpr’

AEDs in the Work Place

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Automatic external defibrillators have found new places in the companies and businesses that have a lot of employees. People are now aware of medical crisis that lead to death within five minutes while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive in uniforms, stretchers and an ambulance. A busy company needs an AED the same way it needs a fire extinguisher. Employees and clients are all at risk of a fatal heart attack while in the office.

Emergency AEDs in the office need to be put in places that are easily accessible and trained employees should always be present. The fact that CPR is very important, an office is a place full of people who are very active and responsive: one employee calls 911 and another employee gets the AED device, while a trained person in CPR gives the victim rescue breaths and removes all clothing in the chest area ready to apply the AED pads. Shaving a cardiac arrest victim should be done quickly and sweat wiped off the chest of the victim.

The first five minutes after a cardiac arrest are the most crucial when trying to save a life. Statistics show that in every minute that employees fail to administer CPR to a victim of heart attack the chances of survival reduce by 7-10%. When employees are gathered around the victim waiting for a twelve minutes response from 911, the chances of patient’s survival reduce by 84%. When CPR alone is used, the chances of survival are only 1-5% which is very minimal because the hand does not know how to compress for a good shock to restart the heart. The use of CPR and an automatic external defibrillator increases the chances of survival by 49-75%.

The statistics of death caused by cardiac arrest in America has led to a new response technique in businesses and corporate. People have taken the initiative to learn how to administer CPR and also use the AED device. There are very important factors to note before using an automatic external defibrillator and all these are taught to all employees in case an emergency occurs when the response team of the office is out for lunch or a meeting. These AEDs should be in all departments so that response will be fast when an employee of a certain department has collapsed. This emergency preparation is almost being incorporated in all offices to help clients, shareholders, employees or anyone around the office. There are some states in the US that are required by law to have AEDs in their commercial premises. If a company does not have these devices, it will be seen as a sign of carelessness or negligence.

Many AEDs in a commercial premise will ultimately reduce liability and insurance premiums. A company should check out if its state is under the law that all business premises should have AEDs. This will help greatly when deciding where to purchase these medical devices. There are retailers who sell AEDs and also give a detailed training session on how to administer CPR and also things to be before using an AED and also how to use the device. Employees need to enroll in the emergency response program and get enlightened about the need to be alert and responsive when a person has a cardiac arrest because this condition is very fatal and quick response is needed.

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.