Automatic External Defibrillator    (AED)

Did you know that someone dies from cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds?  Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one killer of all Americans.  Each year, about 350 people die from cardiovascular disease in Cleveland County.   

Each day, more than 1,000 Americans suffer from cardiac arrest—usually away from the hospital.  When cardiac arrest occurs, the victim loses consciousness, has no pulse, and stops breathing normally.  Since life-saving defibrillators are not available, greater than 95 percent of cardiac arrest victims die within minutes.  Statistics show that for every minute that passes without defibrillation, a victim’s chance of survival decreases 7 to 10 percent.  After as little as 10 minutes, very few resuscitation attempts are successful. 

 That is where the AED comes to the rescue.  An AED is a new generation of defibrillators allowing lay rescuers to successfully deliver defibrillation.  It is a FDA regulated medical device used to administer electrical shock through the chest wall to the heart.  Built-in computers assess the patient’s heart rhythm, judge whether defibrillation is needed and then administers shock.  Audible and/or visual prompts guide the user through the process.  The layperson can be trained to use this equipment in several hours.  Having trained lay rescuers equipped with AEDs in setting where large numbers of people congregate (such as the YMCA) saves precious minutes and improves survival rates for cardiac arrest victims.

If you would like to learn more about AEDs or to purchase one, click on the link to go directly to that website www.StopHeartAttack.com. 

 To learn more about workplace AEDs and OSHA guidelines, please click on the link below:

http://www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/dec01/trade-20011217A.html.