About Sudden Cardiac Arrest Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the
leading cause of death in America,
claiming the lives of more than 300,000
people of all ages each year. SCA is
oftentimes confused with a Heart Attack,
but it is in fact a distinct and
separate condition. SCA is caused by an
“electrical” problem whereby the heart
ceases to function properly and enters a
state that renders it incapable of
properly pumping blood. This is in
contrast to a heart attack which is
customarily caused by some form of
blockage that prevents required blood
flow (a “plumbing” problem), damaging
the heart and sometimes also leading to
SCA.
SCA can result from a
variety of causes, including an inherent
defect, heart disease, and trauma, e.g.
commotio cordis. As its name implies,
Sudden Cardiac Arrest often strikes
without prior warning symptoms, e.g.
chest pain, and generally results in
near-immediate loss of consciousness.
Effective treatment options for SCA are
limited. While CPR does help to promote
the circulation of oxygen throughout the
body – a crucial factor in mitigation of
post-event damage for victims, it will
generally not restore normal cardiac
function following an SCA event. In the
vast majority of circumstances, delivery
of an electric shock via defibrillation
is the only viable means of restoring
normal heart rhythm and saving the
victim’s life.
How to Maximize Survival A major misconception is that
merely calling 911 will be sufficient to
save an SCA victim. As survival rates
from SCA generally decrease by 10% for
each minute that passes following a
victims collapse, any number of factors,
such as traffic delays, inclement
weather, remote locations, slow
elevators, difficulty locating the
correct physical address, or challenges
in finding a victim in large and / or
crowded facilities, etc. can frustrate
the dedicated and heroic efforts of
emergency responders such as paramedics
and EMTs and prevent them from reaching
an SCA victim in time to save his or her
life. An on-site Automated External
Defibrillator (AED) can be deployed
within minutes of an SCA event during
the very small window of time crucial to
survival and enable the administration
of key life-saving intervention until
additional help arrives.
What Is An Automated External Defibrillator (AED)? Smaller than a laptop computer,
AEDs are lightweight and highly portable
medical devices that are able to deliver
electrical shocks required to restart
the hearts of victims of cardiac
arrest. With features such as voice
prompts and visual cues, AEDs are very
easy for lay people to use. With technology advancing over
recent years, AEDs are now very
affordable with units available for less
than $1,500.
How Does An AED Work? AEDs provide brief, but powerful,
electrical stimulation to the chest,
interrupting irregular rhythms, such as
Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) and
Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) to restore
the heart's natural rhythm and, just as
importantly, to restore the flow of
oxygenated blood throughout the body.
Electrodes are placed on the SCA
victim to perform an echocardiogram
(ECG). The AED automatically checks for
a heartbeat and evidence of abnormal
rhythm. Voice and text prompts give
step-by-step instructions programmed for
the non-medical responder to send a
shock to restart the heart if a
ventricular abnormality is present. The
AED will not send a shock to a healthy
heart.
Numerous organizations,
including the American Heart Association
and the American Red Cross, advocate the
proliferation of AEDs in conjunction
with appropriate cardiac emergency
responses plans. Numerous scientific
studies have proven the compelling
ability of AED programs to save human
lives. Facilities with well-planned
programs are providing guests and
employees the ultimate service being
prepared to respond to life-threatening
cardiac emergencies.
