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Survivor Spreads the Word on AEDs
1/10/2011
Being saved with an AED is a life-changing experience. No surprise, the survivors typically become the devices' most fervent evangelists. Click on the image to the right to read the complete story of Durham Police Officer Gerald Elliott, and how he was saved!
AHA, ERC Issue New CPR Guidelines
10/18/2010
Emphasis now on performing compressions before rescue breathing and using automated external defibrillators early.
The 2010 cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines were posted Monday by the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council, offering clear support for early defibrillation using an AED and also for immediate compressions by lay bystanders. These are the first update since 2005. AHA and the ERC are founding members of ILCOR, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation.
The guidelines make it clear that chest compressions, whether by trained or untrained bystanders, are more important than rescue breathing. Bystanders who are trained and willing should combine the two at a ratio of 30 compressions to two breaths, according to the ERC guidelines. Compressions are paramount because even without rescue breathing, the sudden cardiac arrest victim will suffer irreversible brain damage within five minutes after collapse without compressions.
The new ERC Guidelines clearly recommend using AEDs because early defibrillation, in addition to chest compressions, may save the lives of many SCA victims.
To learn more visit the American Heart Association. You can also view Video Highlights of the changes to The Guidelines.
Defibtech Issues Safety Alert fot the DBP-2800 Battery Pack
6/14/2010
Defibtech is notifying customers of a correction regarding DBP-2800 Battery Packs, an accessory used by the DDU-100 series AEDs sold under the brand names, Lifeline AED and ReviveR AED.
This correction affects only DBP-2800 battery packs shipped prior to June 4, 2007.
To learn more, and see if your Defibtech Battery Pack is affected visit Defibtech's Website.
Ewy's Mission: Saving Lives Using Continuous Chest Compressions
By mnewman
Created 01/25/2010 - 2:21pm
International resuscitation experts to consider recommending this protocol during meeting next week in Dallas
TUCSON, Ariz.–For more than two decades, Dr. Gordon Ewy has been on a crusade to change the way people are treated for sudden cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death in the nation. The 76-year-old cardiologist and director of the University of Arizona's Sarver Heart Center has challenged what for years was a kind of sacred cow in the medical profession and a prescription for good Samaritan behavior worldwide: the mouth-to-mouth rule of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.
Ewy (pronounced AY-vee) has pioneered the use of chest compression-only CPR on adults whose hearts suddenly stop pumping. Mouth-to-mouth only detracts from the more effective compressions, he insists. Since the mid-1990s, Ewy's advocacy has often been a thorn in the side of venerable medical establishments such as the American Heart Association. Ewy has written letters in medical journals demanding change and accused the association, whose influence is strong, of not moving quickly enough.
In the past five years, though, there has been a gradual realization that the outspoken Tucson doctor is on to something. In a major shift in 2008, the American Heart Association issued an advisory that said compression-only CPR can be used to save lives and is an option for people who aren't trained in CPR or who are unsure of their CPR abilities. People who are trained can do either, it says. The advisory applies only to cases of adults in cardiac arrest, not children, and excludes drowning and drug-overdose cases. Now, the compression-only version may be on the verge of going worldwide, as an international health group considers whether to revise its guidelines to make it the preferred method.
Not everyone has bought into Ewy's approach. Evidence is mixed. Research in the U.S., Netherlands and Japan has found that chest-compression-only yields similar or better survival rates than standard CPR. Some European studies report better results with mouth-to-mouth. Still, Ewy is convinced it's only a matter of time before compression-only CPR becomes the standard for cardiac arrest.
Every year, cardiac arrest kills about 325,000 people in the U.S. Its main underlying cause is heart disease, and the majority of cardiac arrests happen outside the hospital.
As bad as that is, prospects were worse for victims before modern CPR emerged about five decades ago. Two American doctors, Peter Safar and James Elam, are credited with inventing CPR, and the technique spread rapidly after the American Heart Association endorsed the idea in 1963.
CPR works under the premise that pressing on the chest moves blood to the vital organs while mouth-to-mouth breathing gets oxygen into the lungs. When a person's heart stops beating, the first few minutes are critical. If nothing is done, the chance of survival drops 7 to 10 percent every minute.
Ewy says the compression-only method is better than standard CPR for a simple reason: In standard CPR, when a rescuer stops after 30 compressions to give two breaths, the blood stops moving through the patient's body, essentially starving the organs. Continuous compressions keep the blood flowing. Doing only those also is simpler and easier to remember than standard CPR.
Next week, Ewy will fly to Dallas for a meeting of the world's major resuscitation groups. No one knows whether the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) will endorse compression-only CPR as the preferred method. It's fair to say the discussion will be controversial and Ewy again could face an uphill battle.
What is ILCOR?
The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) includes eight international resuscitation organizations: the American Heart Association (AHA), European Resuscitation Council (ERC), Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSFC), Resuscitation Council of Asia (RCA), Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa (RCSA), the Australian and New Zealand Council on Resuscitation (ANZCOR), and the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (IAHF). To follow developments, visit http://www.americanheart.org/ilcor .
What is Hands-Only CPR? Visit http://handsonlycpr.org .
SOURCES: Associated Press, Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com
A Survivor's Story
By Jerry Laws
Dec 01, 2009
Everything went right for Joe Moscato on July 22, which explains why he's alive to sing the praises of prepared emergency responders and high-quality automated external defibrillators. Moscato works for AED manufacturer Philips Healthcare, although he's learning products manager for the medical supplies group and not involved with its AED division. But if an AED hadn't been used to revive him July 22 when he collapsed in a hallway of his office building on the company's Andover, Mass., campus, things might have turned out much differently.
Moscato, who exercises frequently and plays on a championship seniors baseball team, said he had no warning a sudden cardiac arrest was imminent. He gets annual physicals and had taken a complete stress test about a year earlier that revealed no problems. His cholesterol was borderline but required no medication, Moscato's doctor said.
"Joe is a healthy-looking man in good physical shape. He's not obese, there's no sign of overweight, and he exercises regularly. You've got to make sure that's stressed in the article," said Kate Rochford, clinical specialist at Philips Healthcare and a registered nurse. A member of the company's emergency response team (ERT), she was in a meeting when an emergency audio page at 4:59 p.m. summoned her, giving her the exact location where Moscato lay.
'There Was No Warning'
"I was just lucky in a lot of different ways that day," Moscato said. He did his normal workout in the company's gym earlier than usual July 22 because three former teammates were visiting (Charles Moss from California, James Puckett from Florida, and Mike Dunn from Maine); the four planned to revisit Cooperstown, N.Y., for Hall of Fame Weekend later that week.
"The last thing I remember about that day is toweling off in the locker room," Moscato said. Co-workers have told Moscato he went from the gym to his office and stopped at an ice machine as usual to get a cup of ice. He greeted a few people there, then dropped. "There was no warning, no pain, nothing. I don't remember any of it. . . . Again, from what everybody tells me, a lot of people rushed to my aid and took over from there. And within minutes, there was an AED by my side. I guess my heart had pretty much stopped beating," he said. "They got it going again, did everything they needed to do to get me going, and got me off to an emergency room in a hospital where they evaluated me and found I had a blockage, some plaque in one of the major arteries around my heart.
Responders' Training Pays Off
Rochford, a former critical care nurse, said she reached the spot where Moscato had fallen two to three minutes after receiving the page. Another ERT member was opening Moscato's shirt. They opened Moscato's airway. A team member began chest compressions, Rochford began giving ventilations, and a third member fetched the AED and applied its pads to Moscato's chest.
"I looked down, and I saw 'V fib.' I said, 'It's V fib, it's going to shock,' " Rochford said. "About a second later, it said, 'Shock advised.' As soon as the shock's done, we're back on his chest doing CPR and ventilations because, according to the AHA protocols, don't wait, just go back." Two minutes later, she advised the team to stop so the machine could reanalyze. It said, "no shock advised." Moscato then had a 140 systolic blood pressure and began breathing on his own, Rochford said. An outside ambulance team was en route, already aware the call was a cardiac arrest. By the time the EMTs arrived around 5:20 p.m., they had been alerted that Moscato had a pulse.
This trial by fire was the first use of an AED by the emergency response team. Rochford was the team leader that day; the other ERT members who responded have no health care experience, yet they knew what to do thanks to their training.
Moscato said he knew little about SCA and heart attacks before experiencing his own. "In my view, that was something that happened to everybody else but would never happen to me," he said. "Since it happened, I've read a lot of articles about SCA. And from what I understand, it could happen to anybody at any time at any age. It's more common than I would have thought it was. I'm preaching to people now about exercise, and diet, and all of the things that can help to prevent SCA."
Philips created a moving video about the save that is available here.
ZOLL PocketCPR for iPhone TRAINING APP Now Available
Only CPR Training App to Give Real-Time Feedback on Performance
November 12, 2009
ZOLL Medical Corporation today announced that a PocketCPR® training application (app) for iPhone is now available from the Apple iTunes App Store for $5.99. PocketCPR for iPhone can be used in all CPR training programs or for individual practice at any time. The new app will prepare both professionals and lay rescuers to perform CPR for victims of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
Using Real CPR Help®, the same proprietary technology found in all ZOLL defibrillators and AEDs, PocketCPR for iPhone provides CPR training with real-time feedback on the rate and depth of compressions. The app provides clear visual and audio step-by-step instructions and feedback to guide CPR practice and also reinforces the American Heart Association and International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (AHA/ILCOR) recommendations on CPR.
With practice on a manikin or resilient foam cushion, the iPhone’s internal accelerometer measures the movement of the user’s hands as simulated chest compressions are delivered. The visual and audio feedback helps to guide the user to the AHA/ILCOR recommended rate of 100 compressions per minute and depth of 1½ to 2 inches.
“PocketCPR® for iPhone is a training app and is not cleared by the FDA for rescue use. With over 40 million iPhones and iPod Touches in use, providing an easy-to-use application through which the public can learn CPR could significantly help improve outcomes from SCA, the leading cause of unexpected death,” said Mark Totman, President of ZOLL’s Bio-Detek subsidiary that developed the application. “We hope in the future a similar application can be cleared by the FDA for clinical use.”
Over 325,000 Americans die each year from SCA and it is believed that over 70 percent of the time, SCA occurs in the presence of a family member or acquaintance. High quality chest compressions can mean the difference between life and death.
To purchase the app or view more about it, any user of an iPhone or iPod Touch needs to enter the App Store from their device, or via iTunes on their computer, using PocketCPR as the search term. Any iTunes user, regardless of whether they own an iPhone or iPod, can purchase the app just like they would purchase a song or video though the iTunes store. For more information and a demo, visit PocketCPR here.
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