Prior to the advent and use of heart defibrillators, the survival rate from a sudden cardiac arrest was very poor. The only tools that rescuers and non-medical trained bystanders had was CPR. Today defibrillators are available and widely used in public buildings, homes, police cars and by all levels of trained medical personnel. Sudden cardiac arrest, or SCA, requires immediate treatment with a defibrillator. This device sends an electric shock to the heart. The electric shock may restore a normal rhythm to a heart that's stopped beating. To work well, defibrillation must be done within minutes of SCA. With every minute that passes, the chances of surviving SCA drop rapidly. (See Reference 1)
Defibrillator Portability
Defibrillators today are small, lightweight, portable and have long batter life. They are fully automated utilizing technology that reads, interprets and shocks the patient if indicated, making them easy to use by anyone. Defibrillators are available for home use and are now carried by many police departments and emergency responders.
Defibrillator Locations
Defibrillators are found in airports, shopping malls, health clubs, arenas, schools and office buildings, to name a few of the public places that have them. They are now standard on commercial aircraft, and as the cost drops, defibrillators will continue to become more common in public and private locations. With survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest tied to time to defibrillation, the greater their availability, the better survival rates will become.
Defibrillator Use
Defibrillators utilize technology that talks the rescuer through the steps of applying the defibrillation pads in the proper location and tells the rescuer when to call 911, perform CPR or not to touch the patient as it's analyzing the heart rhythm and shocking. This ease of use and clear instructions that anyone can follow has made defibrillators invaluable in the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest.
