|
AED
device increases survivability
Through
the years, I have had the privilege to witness many innovations in the fire
service that have been extremely helpful to the people we serve on a daily
basis.
In July 1997, the High Point Fire Department started just such a
program with the a u t o m at i
c exter nal
defibrillator, or AED. This is a program that has proved to be successful by
increasing the survivability of patients who experience sudden cardiac ar rest.
I’m sure we’ve all seen the doctor shows on TV where someone
experiences a heart attack, with the cardiac monitor showing a straight line.
The doctor immediately jumps into action by grabbing the paddles and shocking
the person, converting the straight line to a normal heartbeat and saving the
patient.
It makes for interesting TV, but in reality it doesn’t work that way.
Actually, when someone is shocked with the defibrillator, we’re trying to
create that straight line. Let me explain.
When we determine a person isn’t breathing and has no pulse, we attach
the AED with two patches, one in the shoulder area and one on the side. The
AED then reads the cardiac rhythm and lets us know if the patient should be
shocked. The AED is looking for a particular rhythm called ventricular
fibrillation. If you could see the rhythm on a monitor, it would appear as
small upand- down lines that are very close
together. This is a chaotic rhythm where the heart quivers and cannot move
blood, and it will quickly result in death. If the AED recognizes this rhythm
it will advise we need to shock the patient; if not we do
CPR until paramedics arrive. By shocking the patient, we hope to stop the
chaotic rhythm to allow a normal heartbeat to resume.
According to the American Heart Association, using the defibrillator
increases the odds of survival from five percent with just CPR to 80 percent
if the defibrillator is placed on the patient within a few minutes of sudden
cardiac arrest.
We have talked in the past about the importance of a quick response.
Here is just one example. A patient’s chance of survival drops by 10 percent
for every minute that a defibrillator isn’t used. When the AEDs were first put on the truck, one gentleman was
revived twice within a three-month period by firefighters using the AED. It’s
a tremendous tool in our arsenal that helps us to continue providing a high
level of care to all who need over services. And isn’t that what it’s all
about?
24/7/365: You call; we res p o n d .
KENNETH LEE KNIGHT is a battalion chief in the High Point Fire
Department. He can be contacted at kenneth.knight@highpointnc.gov.
|
|
