Heart Safe news: Our weekly update on what’s happening in the world of heart safety and noninvasive cardiology

For older men, higher exercise capacity means longer life

A study in the August 9 issue of Circulation reports that men ages 65 to 92 with higher exercise capacity have a lower risk of death (from all causes).

The study is based on results from exercise treadmill tests conducted at Veterans Affairs hospitals between 1986 and 2008. More than 5,000 men were tested on a treadmill and their peak exercise workloads measured. Researchers gauged exercise capacity on the basis of exercise time.

Treadmill stress tests are used to measure exercise capacity and fitness.

The better an individual’s exercise capacity (as measured by the treadmill test) the less likely he was to be among the 2137 individuals who died during the 8-year follow-up period.

Compared with the least fit individuals, the mortality risk was 38% lower for those who demonstrated a moderate level of exercise capacity and 61% lower for those with a strong level of exercise capacity (defined as greater than 9 metabolic equivalents). The effect was the same, regardless of age.

Interesting, the study found that men who initially tested as unfit, but who improved their fitness status on subsequent exercise treadmill testing, had a 35% lower mortality risk than men who remained unfit.

You can read the abstract of “Exercise Capacity and Mortality in Older Men,” by Kokkinos P, Myers J, Faselis C, et al.

Biker’s death spurs donation of Powerheart AEDs to Catalina Island rangers

A mountain biker suffered a heart attack and died while biking in the interior of Catalina Island last year. His death led the Catalina Island Search and Rescue team to organize a donation of six Powerheart G3 AEDs to the Conservancy’s Ranger Department. eCatalinal.com reports that the rangers are usually the first responders to emergencies in that area.

“An AED was the one piece of equipment that could have made the difference,” said JJ Poindexter, a search and rescue team member, told eCatalina.com. “It’s been proven that cardio pulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation during a heart attack episode greatly improves the chances of survival for the victim.”

Hawaii AEDs: School football trainer uses defibrillator to revive player

Once again, member of a school athletic department with an automated external defibrillator on hand is credited with saving a student’s life. Colin Lee, a trainer with Pearl City High School on O’ahu was there when 14-year-old Solomon Spencer collapsed with sudden cardiac arrest during JV football practice last week.

Lee attached the AED, which administered a shock, and Lee did CPR until Spencer’s pulse returned. The player was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

The AED was on-hand as a result of a school football emergency four years ago. At that time, a baseball coach collapsed and was revived because an AED was at the field.

KHON@.com reports that “Former Hawaii High School Athletic Association Director Keith Amemiya teamed with HMSA to make sure every Athletic Department from then on out had one.”

“Thank God for that equipment and for the people who were trained to use that equipment,” said Pearl Spencer, the player’s mother.

She told the news media that her son is expected to make a full recovery.

Demographic study help site AEDs in residential neighborhoods

A study published in the recent issue of Circulation describes statistical techniques that can be used to site automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in residential neighborhoods where people have the highest incidence of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.

“Whereas a tremendous amount of resources has focused on deployment of AEDs in public locations, the majority of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) take place in residential areas and remain not covered by publicly placed AEDs,” the researchers commented in their study. “Furthermore, little is known about how to identify residential areas with the highest risk of OHCA, let alone the possible cost of public access defibrillation in such areas.”

The research was done in Denmark, using records of sudden cardiac arrest incidents from 1995 to 20005.  Read the abstract of “Differences Between Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Residential and Public Locations and Implications for Public-Access Defibrillation,” Fredrik Folke.

Noting the dramatic regional variation in survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) in the U.S., Ashley McClure, MD, and Graham Nichol, MD, of the University of Washington, comment in a Circulation editorial the increased availability of AEDs in residential neighborhoods would be likely to further increase survival rates.

Related Products

• Quinton Q-Stress cardiac stress machine
• Quinton TM55/TM65 stress treadmill
• Quinton Q-Tel cardiac rehabilitation management system
• Quinton CR60 rehabilitation medical treadmill

Last 5 posts

• Cardiac Science AEDs in Spain [VIDEO] - April 4th, 2011
• Cardiac Science wins first major public access defibrillation program in Europe - March 30th, 2011
• Georgia Park saves 5 lives with AEDs - March 24th, 2011
• Sad stories, avoidable deaths? - March 23rd, 2011
• Texas school's AED saves 6-year-old's life - March 22nd, 2011

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