automated defibrillator

Don’t Be Afraid of AED’s!!

Aaaarrrggghhh!!!! What do I do with it ?

All AED’s are user friendly, they will speak to you as soon as you switch them on and guide you through the whole resuscitation process. Some will even guide you through CPR until the ambulance arrives.

Below is an extract from the most recent AED guidelines from the Resuscitation Council (UK), the full guidelines can be found on their website, along with lots of other useful AED and resuscitation information :

‘’It is the view of the Resuscitation Council (UK) that the use of AEDs should NOT be restricted to trained personnel. Furthermore, the Resuscitation Council (UK) considers that it is inappropriate to display notices to the effect that only trained personnel should use the devices, or to restrict their use in other ways. Such restrictions are against the interests of victims of cardiac arrest, and discourage the greater use of AEDs by members of the public who may be able to preserve life and assist victims of cardiac arrest. This confirms similar advice from the British Heart Foundation.’’

Paramedic suffers heart attack while giving CPR to patient.

It will take months before Paramedic Joseph Hardman from Detroit will recover from his last ride. While saving a heart attact patient, he suffers a serious heart attack himself on route to the Hospital.

When Heardman starting sweating and experiencing a sudden explosion-type feeling in his chest, he knew he was having a heart attack. But he kept working to save the life of the man in his care.

Hardman warned his partner, who was driving to the Detroit Medical Center, that there’d be two patients having a heart attack instead of one. “If we hadn’t been on the route to the hospital, I don’t know if I would have survived”, he says.

Since this magical ride, Joseph Hardman is being called a hero and a lifesaver. The docters says, with a couple of months of therapy, he could go back to work. The same goes for the man whose life was saved by Hardman.

Defibrillator call for all soccer stadia in world

13 August 2013

EVERY football pitch around the globe should have emergency care equipment on hand to help treat any players that suffer the same condition as former footballer Fabrice Muamba, experts have said.

The ex-Bolton Wanderers midfielder was effectively dead for more than an hour when he collapsed following a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup match last year.

Now researchers have said officials at games around the world should adopt a universal standard of emergency medical care. In June this year, the emergency medical bag was sent to all of the 209 member associations of Fifa.

And the guidance on sudden cardiac arrest – the leading cause of sudden death in football – outlines “fundamental measures” to prevent a player dying from the condition, the experts said.

Welch Allyn AED10 End of Life in March 2014

Welch Allyn AED10 End of Life in March 2014

Welch Allyn has announced that from now on no repairs will be carried out to the Welch Allyn AED10 units with serial number NA043416 and previous produced units, and training units for AED10 with serial NB015377 and previous produced units.

For all other Welch Allyn AED10 models the repair support shall expire on March 31, 2014. The supply of accessories such as batteries and electrodes for the Welch Allyn AEDs will end from this date. Until then, these accessories are available at the following link: http://www.aedexpert.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=welch+allyn

Keeper survives cardiac arrest during competition

Keeper survives cardiac arrest during competition

Friday, April 26th, 2013

Tuesday April 23th, the keeper of a Rotterdam club, had a cardiac arrest during a football match in the Hague Zuiderpark. Thanks to the swift action taken by the ‘home team’ WIK, the keeper survived the cardiac arrest.

Bystanders have called 112 (alarm number) and started CPR with an AED. As a consequence, the heart rhythm was restored and the victim almost immediately conscius. Police and ambulance were quickly on the spot. The keeper was taken to a hospital and the angioplasty was successfully.

“And so does a 6-minute zone” operates, says director Hans Tribe of the Heart Foundation. WIK was one of the many sports clubs that became a member of the joint project of Fund 1818, the Heart Foundation and Sport service South Holland. With this project, clubs could purchase an AED and CPR course for a small fee. Funding for the project was provided by Fund 1818. Resuscitation Partners of the Heart Foundation provided the CPR courses for the volunteers. Sport service Zuid-Holland was responsible the implementation of this project.

AEDs on sports fields

This incident proves once again the need for the presence of AED’s and trained volunteers who are able to resuscitate and operate the AED. An AED is not available within the majority of the sport clubs. By timely deployment of an AED in resuscitation (within 6 minutes), the survival rate of the victim will rise to 50-70%

Netherland a 6-minute zone

The area of soccer club WIK was already a 6-minute zone (due to the project). The Heart Foundation wants to make a large 6-minute zone in The Netherlands. A 6-minute zone is an area in which it is possible to perform all required actions that are necessary in case of a cardiac arrest.

Hans Stam: “Every year nearly 16,000 people have a cardiac arrest. Together we can ensure that the number of deaths, as a result of cardiac arrest, decreases.”

Resuscitation Course

Due to this event, the program of Fund 1818 has been extended. For more information, please visit the site of Fund 1818.

The grandfather of an Ajax fan survives a cardiac arrest during a football match.

During a vootball match last Sunday a Grandfather of an Ajax fan had a cardiac arrest and survived. Supporters and staff at the Amsterdam Arena shots to his aid.

‘Because he was immediately resuscitated and a defibrillator was present, he survived, “says Granddaughter Svenja Koot on Facebook. She wants to thank everyone who helped her grandfather. She is touched by the supporters who missed a large part of the second half of the game, because they helped her grandfather.

The exploits of the supporters and staff, it seems that Grandpa Koot will have no permanent injuries.

Life-saving machine to be installed at golf club

A DEFIBRILLATOR is being installed at a golf club near Ashbourne as part of a funding venture between members and a national charity.

Members of Brailsford Golf Club have worked with the British Heart Foundation to install the life-saving piece of equipment, which is designed to treat sufferers of a cardiac arrest.

Jointly funded by the club and the charity, the machine works by delivering a controlled electric shock through the chest wall, to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm and help combat the problem.

Sophie Jardine, BHF fundraising manager in Derbyshire, said: “We are extremely delighted that Brailsford Golf Club now has a defibrillator, in case of a life-threatening cardiac arrest on site. It is nice for people to know that fundraising events organised by volunteers and supporters across Derbyshire contribute to funding such vital pieces of equipment in local communities.

“Around 60,000 people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests around the UK every year, and chances of survival sadly decrease with every minute that passes before emergency services arrive (2, 3).

“Having more defibrillators available locally is crucial to saving more lives.”

Colin Ringer, Seniors Captain of Brailsford Golf Club, said: “As part of my year, I wanted to leave a legacy that could benefit the club members of today and in the future. The defibrillator is a great asset and shows that care and support of our members and visitors really is at the heart of the club.

“We all hope it stays in the box and is never used, but should a cardiac arrest occur, we know we are equipped to do our utmost to try and save a life.

“Many of the staff and members have now received emergency first aid and defibrillator training and will be able to use the equipment with confidence if needed.

“We are pleased and thankful to have worked closely with the BHF to receive this valuable piece of equipment.”

Life saving defibrillator stolen from Mablethorpe on Easter Sunday

A potentially life-saving defibrillator was stolen by thieves from Mablethorpe on Easter Sunday, just days after being installed.

The defibrillator, which was housed in a coded steel cabinet on the North Promenade, was taken sometime on Sunday.

In March East Midlands Ambulance Service invested £120,000 in 127 defibillators across the East Midlands. The machines are used for when someone has gone into cardiac arrest.

EMAS spokesperson Mel Wright said the defibrillators each cost £750 plus VAT, with the housing costing a further £450 plus VAT.

Programme lead Steve Bonser, of East Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “The people that commit this kind of act against our service and the local community are putting lives at risk.

“They should be ashamed of their actions.”

EMAS confirmed the entire £120,000 budget for the defibrillators had been spent on 127 units, meaning no money was left to replace the stolen item.

Lincolnshire Police are investigating and anyone with information is urged to contact them on 101.

Readers on the Leader’s Facebook page have been outraged by the theft. Click here to read their comments and to add your own.

Public schools shun free defibrillators

PUBLIC schools have been forced to decline the offer of free defibrillators – because the education department does not support their use at school.

NSW is out of step with other states such as Victoria which welcomes the lifesaving defibrillators into schools.

Grieving family and friends of Jamie Paraskevopoulos, 16, who collapsed and died after finishing an exam at Aquinas College, Menai, in 2010, last year raised about $50,000 for 18 defibrillators which they then offered to 16 schools, along with two for Jamie’s football clubs.

Aquinas College had bought its own defibrillator unit but four public schools had to turn them down after the department said it would not support them.

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli declined to comment, and said he’d seek the department’s advice on its policy.

Defibrillators, which can be used after basic CPR training, can only shock someone whose heart has stopped.

Julia Zuza helped with the fundraising, during which time she discovered the recent deaths of two other teens in southernSydney from sudden cardiac death.

“With this condition, and that is what happened to Jamie, going into cardiac arrest is the first sign something is wrong,” Ms Zuza said.

“If you have had CPR going, the defibrillator will kick in and shock and possibly bring the person back. Everyone wanted the defibrillators.”

Ms Zuza supports The Daily Telegraph’s campaign for CPR training in all schools.

Sue Buckman, whose 19-year-old son Stephen died playing AFL in 2010, started Defib Your Club, for Life! in Victoria – which has since led to defibrillators in public schools.

A NSW education departments spokeswoman said: “The Department’s current policy does not support the use of defibrillators on school grounds.

“Staff members at schools are trained to do CPR and ambulances respond immediately when contacted by a school.”

The department has no centralised record of how many students had suffered a cardiac arrest at school, despite sudden cardiac death killing up to 500 fit, young Australians, mostly aged under 35, each year.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AND YMCA ARE GIVING AWAY FREE 100 CPR LESSONS. TO BE IN THE RUNNING, EMAIL NEWS@DAILYTELEGRAPH. COM.AU AND TELL US WHY 20 STUDENTS FROM YOUR SCHOOL SHOULD RECEIVE FREE TRAINING

Muamba shows need for more defibrillators

Take time to search the full collection of recent newspapers and blogs and you’ll soon find the stories of children dying suddenly at school. Kyle Rees, 16, died after he was hit on the head by a cricket ball in February;Leonie Nice, 12, collapsed and died after she was hit on the chest by a rugby ball; Luke Chapman, 15, collapsed and died after swallowing his tongue during a rugby match.

Could these problems have been detected, or the accidents averted, if these children had been screened beforehand? Sadly, no, because a sudden cardiac arrest and other causes of sudden death can be brought on by a seemingly inconspicuous accident. The case of Fabrice Muamba(Report, 19 March), who had been screened four times for cardiac problems prior to his collapse last Saturday, shows screening cannot guarantee anything. Nor can the installation of defibrillators, and this is not something we would claim, but there are differences between the two policies which make the latter preferable. A sudden cardiac arrest can be caused by a blow to the chest or choking, and a screening is no guarantee that long-term problems would be detected anyway. Once a cardiac arrest has occurred, the first 10 minutes are vital and an on-site defibrillator will give the patient a huge boost (6% up to 74%) in terms of survival chances if it can be applied immediately.

We’d love to see both the provision of screening and distribution of defibrillators improved for schools. But we’d argue that screening will only benefit a minority of cases and should not take precedence over providing defibrillators, which will have benefits in any resuscitation situation. They are a vital piece of safety equipment, for everybody, and will save children’s lives. An improvement in screening is necessary, butHand on Heart will continue to focus on its mission to provide free defibrillators and CPR training to UK schools.
David Howarth
Chairman, Hand on Heart Charity