What is an AED and when is it needed? An automated external defibrillator (AED) is used to deliver an electrical shock to the heart (defibrillation) of a victim of the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart’s electrical impulses suddenly become chaotic, causing the heart to abruptly stop pumping blood effectively – known as ventricular fibrillation. The victim becomes unresponsive, has no detectable pulse and stops breathing. The only definitive treatment to restore an effective heart rhythm of the most common cause of SCA is defibrillation. back to top If sudden cardiac arrest does occur in our community , isn’t it the responsibility of emergency medical services ? Helping to save lives is a shared responsibility. A community’s emergency response program should complement, not replace, the existing 9-1-1 structure. Working in partnership with EMS, communities can help keep a victim alive for EMS personnel to treat when they arrive. Training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and in the use of AEDs can minimize time-to-defibrillation. For the best chance of survival, a shock to the heart should be delivered within the first 5 minutes. The likelihood of successful resuscitation decreases by approximately 10 percent with every minute that passes. After 10 minutes without defibrillation, few attempts at resuscitation are successful. Sadly, the average response time for emergency medical services in a typical community is nine minutes. back to top Does sudden cardiac arrest happen to children? Yes. A study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine of the Houston EMS system3 states that in the United States, about 16,000 children under age 17 die annually due to unexpected pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest, a condition that may be treated with an AED. The authors state that while the occurrence is significantly less frequent that that of adults, years of life lost rivals that of adult cardiac arrest. HeartStart Defibrillators and their accessories adjust to reduce the delivered energy to a level more appropriate for an infant or child (less than 55 pounds or 8 years of age). back to top Why should a community purchase defibrillators? Studies demonstrate dramatic increases in survival as a result of the broad deployment of defibrillators. The American Heart Association estimates that 40,000 more lives could be saved annually in the U.S. alone if defibrillators were more widely available and could reach victims more quickly.2 Early defibrillation programs established in shopping malls, airports, businesses, health clubs, casinos, and across entire towns and cities have already been successful in saving lives from sudden cardiac arrest and greatly improving survival rates over the national average. back to top Is implementing an AED program difficult?
Implementing an automated external defibrillation program is not difficult, but does take some planning. Philips provides HeartStart Essentials – a comprehensive solution for implementing and maintaining your early defibrillation program including site assessments, medical direction, training, and program management.
back to top How many AEDs are needed?
To help you determine the number of AEDs needed, we can meet with you and your medial director to perform a site assessment. The site assessment helps you plan the deployment of AEDs to meet the goals you set for your response to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). It takes into consideration the layout, population distribution, traffic patterns and high-risk locations of your site. It also considers local EMS access within your community. The result is a recommendation on where to strategically deploy AEDs. Based on the information gathered in the site assessment, your assessment team will identify potential locations for AEDs, measure response time to all covered areas served by the AED, and adjust locations or number of AEDs to meet your response time goals. Recommendations will be made along the way for ensuring a smooth, timely handoff of care to EMS. back to top How safe are AEDs?
AEDs are designed to deliver a shock only to someone who is suffering from the most common cause of cardiac arrest. When used properly and with appropriate precautions, AEDs are very simple to operate and pose no risk to either the rescuer or the victim. back to top Is maintenance time-consuming?
Philips HeartStart Defibrillators have long-life batteries and perform comprehensive daily, weekly and monthly self-tests to help ensure readiness. Visual and audible status indicators allow responders to immediately see whether the device has passed its last self test and is ready for use. back to top Are AEDs expensive?
Training and equipping targeted responders with AEDs represents an efficient use of existing resources and is an effective means of enhancing a community’s emergency medical response. Through technological advances in defibrillation design, circuitry and battery technology, purchasing an AED for your community is more affordable. Philips HeartStart Defibrillators with supplies can now be purchased from $1,495 - $2,995 per unit. back to top Is there an increased risk of liability for using an AED?
All organizations should evaluate the relative risks and benefits when considering the implementation of an early defibrillation program. According to the American Heart Association, to date, no known judgments have been rendered against the operator of an AED for negligent or improper use of AEDs. According to an article on AEDs and legal liability published in Air & Space Lawyer (a publication of the American Bar Association), “liability claims associated with the negligent operation of AEDs are mitigated by the difficulty in establishing that the operator proximately caused harm to the victim…The AED operator is attempting to resuscitate an individual who, absent the AED, will likely remain dead.” By contrast, recent news indicates that communities may face liability for failing to have an AED available to treat a victim of sudden cardiac arrest. For example, in June 1996, a Florida jury found Busch Gardens negligent for not properly training its employees to provide emergency care and for failing to have essential medical equipment, including a defibrillator, on the premises. The plaintiff was awarded $500,000 in damages for the death of her teenage daughter at the amusement park. The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act passed by Congress in 2000 provides a model that states could adopt to encourage widespread use of AEDs and other lifesaving devices and provide immunity for those who give emergency care. And Good Samaritan laws enacted by nearly every state enable a range of non-traditional emergency responders to use AEDs. In further support of these legislative efforts, Philips offers customers an indemnification program to protect Philips AED users. In summary, the benefits of AEDs, the relative manageable cost of implementation and the lack of other effective treatment alternatives can present a compelling argument that communities and other organizations might have a duty of care toward their employees, customers, patrons, etc. who may suffer sudden cardiac arrest. Failure to purchase and use AEDs could conceivably subject these communities to an increasing liability risk in this rapidly evolving legal arena. back to top Are Philips HeartStart AEDs Optimized for AHA/ERC Guidelines?
At Philips, we are proud of the extent to which our AEDs are optimized for the AHA, and ERC, recommendations. We believe we are uniquely faithful to the intent of Guidelines 2005. To start, Philips AEDs have a single shock protocol, followed by 2-minute CPR intervals. But Philips recognized early the importance of minimizing interruption to chest compressions, and delivering a shock as quickly as possible after CPR. As a result, Philips HeartStart AEDs feature Quick Shock, the ability to deliver a shock in under 8 seconds (typical) after the end of CPR. Other defibrillators take 2 or 3 times that amount of time to deliver a shock after compressions. Guidelines 2005 recognize the importance of minimizing the time to shock after CPR to improve shock success. Philips also gives responders on-demand CPR coaching to encourage the performing of CPR, and help responders recall their training, helping to improve CPR quality. In addition, the Philips HeartStart FR2+ and HeartStart FRx are the only devices with SMART CPR, the ability to assess a shockable rhythm and automatically determine if the patient is best served with an immediate shock (in the case of a rhythm typical of the first few minutes of cardiac arrest), or CPR first, followed by a shock (which may better serve patients who have been in cardiac arrest longer then 4-5 minutes). The Latest: Hands-Only CPR
The American Heart Association published a Science Advisory, “Hands-Only (Compression-Only) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Call to Action for Bystander Response to Adults Who Experience Out-of-Hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest,” in the April 2008 edition of Circulation, providing responders with new guidelines for Hands-Only CPR. Philips HeartStart Defibrillators support Hands-only CPR. Our AEDs can be configured to coach users through only compressions, omitting instruction for rescue breaths. back to top Is financing available?
Philips realizes that communities may need support when making the initial financial commitment to purchase AEDs. We are pleased to provide a broad range of financing options to purchase AEDs. For more information on leasing, deferred financing, installment plans contact us at 800-453-6860. back to top References: 1. Berger S, Dhaka A, Friedberg DZ. Sudden cardiac death in infants, children and adolescents. Pediatric Clinics of North America, April 1999;46(2):221.
2. American Heart Association. 2004 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update. Dallas, Texas: American Heart Association, 2004.
3. Sirbaugh, et al. A Prospective, Population-based Study of Demographics, Epidemiology, Management and Outcome of Out-of-Hospital Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Arrest. Annals of Emergency Medicine, Feb 99, 33:2 174-184.
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