According to The Cardiac Arrest Survival Foundation approximately 33,000 Australians die every year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Whilst a heart Attack is the leading cause of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, it is only one of many causes. Sadly Sudden Cardiac Arrest can strike anyone, of any age and fitness – including children.
There is overwhelming evidence that early defibrillation with an Automated External
Chances of Survival from SCA
Defibrillator saves lives. In fact the chance of death increases by approximately 10% for every minute that passes from time of collapse to defibrillation. So by the time 10 minutes has passed, the possibility of survival from a sudden cardiac arrest is virtually zero.
In areas with public access AEDs, survival rates have increased from as low as 10% to as high as 80%.
So if AEDs save so many lives, why would they be a waste of money?
There can be no question that AEDs are an investment that does not come cheap. Just like any other investment they require certain conditions to be met to ensure an optimal return. For an AED those conditions include ensuring your AED:
- is always operationally ready
- easily located by anyone, including general public
- well signed
So what makes your AED a waste of money?
- flat batteries
- dried or damaged pads
- not easily located
- when it is locked up or stored in an office
As Paramedics we find it very frustrating attending cardiac arrests in public venues that are equipped with an AED, but it is not utilised. In the last 12 months the partners of Staying Alive have attended shopping centers where the AED has not been deployed. We have found it is not uncommon for AEDs to be stored in an office and “it is the cleaner’s job to fetch it.” This means the cleaner has to be in the complex, notified, locate the AED and then bring it to the scene, all while precious minutes tick by.
At another case the AED had been utilised 3 days earlier for another cardiac arrest and as a result they did not have any pads to use. The moral of the story is if you use the only set of pads, immediately contact your supplier and request a new set be delivered to you without delay.
News articles about AEDs have until recently been focused on positive outcomes. However there has been increasing media coverage of incidents where AEDs have failed the victim. A World News article highlights the importance of maintaining AEDs and provides the example of a TV news story where an AED was deployed for a man in cardiac arrest on a Florida beach, but the AED had flat batteries. Some blamed the man’s death on poor maintenance of the AED.
A recent audit of AEDs located in parks in Staten Island found many of them would be useless if required. This was because many of them either had flat batteries, missing parts or simply could not be located.
So please don’t let your investment in an AED be a waste of money, someones life maybe depending on it.
Staying Alive Paramedical Services 