Public Defibrillators Save Lives
Public Defibrillators Save Lives
But Are They Worth the Cost?
Oct. 17, 2002 -- Heart defibrillators mounted in airports and other public places can help more people survive sudden cardiac arrest, according to a two-year study conducted at three Chicago airports.
Cardiac arrest, or a halt of the heart's pumping action, is most often caused by a heart attack. The sudden loss of blood supply to part of the heart causes a disturbance in the heart's electrical activity -- and the heart stops beating.
Automated defibrillators are the best way to shock a stopped heart back into action -- if they're used within five minutes of the person collapsing. Studies have shown that the devices are so easy to use, even sixth graders can use them without training.
However, some debate that few people actually collapse in public places, so the cost of public defibrillators may not be justified.
The Chicago study results give public defibrillators the thumbs up. When a unit was readily available and used within five minutes after someone collapsed, 75% of the people were resuscitated and rapidly regained consciousness, writes lead researcher Sherry L. Caffrey, an EMT with the Chicago Department of Aviation and Chicago Fire Department.
Her report appears in the Oct. 17 issue of TheNew England Journal of Medicine.
Caffrey and colleagues conducted their study at Chicago's O'Hare, Midway, and Meigs Field airports, which report serving more than 100 million passengers annually. The use of defibrillators was promoted by public-service videos in waiting areas, pamphlets, and reports in the media.
Over a two-year period, 21 people experienced cardiac arrest, 18 of whom had ventricular fibrillation -- the most common type of deadly heart rhythm that can be shocked back to normal. "With two exceptions, defibrillator operators were good Samaritans, acting voluntarily," Caffrey reports.
Five patients did not survive -- defibrillators were neither nearby nor used within five minutes. Three others eventually died, despite the rapid use of a defibrillator.
However, 11 patients were successfully resuscitated, including eight who regained consciousness before hospital admission. The rescuers of six of those 11 had no training or experience in the use of automated defibrillators, although three had medical degrees.
Public Defibrillators Save Lives
But Are They Worth the Cost?
Oct. 17, 2002 -- Heart defibrillators mounted in airports and other public places can help more people survive sudden cardiac arrest, according to a two-year study conducted at three Chicago airports.
Cardiac arrest, or a halt of the heart's pumping action, is most often caused by a heart attack. The sudden loss of blood supply to part of the heart causes a disturbance in the heart's electrical activity -- and the heart stops beating.
Automated defibrillators are the best way to shock a stopped heart back into action -- if they're used within five minutes of the person collapsing. Studies have shown that the devices are so easy to use, even sixth graders can use them without training.
However, some debate that few people actually collapse in public places, so the cost of public defibrillators may not be justified.
The Chicago study results give public defibrillators the thumbs up. When a unit was readily available and used within five minutes after someone collapsed, 75% of the people were resuscitated and rapidly regained consciousness, writes lead researcher Sherry L. Caffrey, an EMT with the Chicago Department of Aviation and Chicago Fire Department.
Her report appears in the Oct. 17 issue of TheNew England Journal of Medicine.
Caffrey and colleagues conducted their study at Chicago's O'Hare, Midway, and Meigs Field airports, which report serving more than 100 million passengers annually. The use of defibrillators was promoted by public-service videos in waiting areas, pamphlets, and reports in the media.
Over a two-year period, 21 people experienced cardiac arrest, 18 of whom had ventricular fibrillation -- the most common type of deadly heart rhythm that can be shocked back to normal. "With two exceptions, defibrillator operators were good Samaritans, acting voluntarily," Caffrey reports.
Five patients did not survive -- defibrillators were neither nearby nor used within five minutes. Three others eventually died, despite the rapid use of a defibrillator.
However, 11 patients were successfully resuscitated, including eight who regained consciousness before hospital admission. The rescuers of six of those 11 had no training or experience in the use of automated defibrillators, although three had medical degrees.
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