AED, ECG/EKG, Stress Test Machine, Holter, Cardiac Rehab, Diagnostic Connectivity » AEDs

Tennessee city chooses Powerheart G3 AED for park safety

Karen Anderson — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:00:32 +0000

The city of Clarksville, Tennessee, is getting ready to install an automated external defibrillator (AED) in the city’s busy Heritage Park. The Powerheart G3 AED is a gift to the city from the Clarksville Firefighters Association, along with a special alarm-equipped cabinet.

Mayor Kim McMillian accepts a Powerheart G3 AED donated by the Clarksville Firefighters Association (Photo: Bill Larson, ClarksvilleOnline.com)

The firefighters told ClarksvilleOnline.com that they chose the AED because it can use special defibrillator pads designed for children, is equipped with a long-life lithium battery, and comes with a 7-year warranty.

Heritage Park hosts weekend sports activities that attract as many as 4,000 people, making it a likely site for a cardiac incident to occur, David Kirkland, president of the Firefighters Association, said at the AED presentation ceremony. He urged citizens to learn CPR, but also to be ready to use a defibrillator in case of sudden cardiac arrest.

“Having an AED on hand increases your chances of survival by up to 65 percent,” he said. Kirkland noted that a nearby YMCA had used its AED to successfully resuscitate a cardiac arrest victim earlier this year.

“Minutes count, seconds count, and this is something that will help in a cardiac emergency until the first responders arrive on site,” Kevin Cowling of the Parks and Recreation Department said.

Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillian accepted the AED on behalf of the city. “It is certainly nice to have it there as some added insurance in case we do need it,” she said.

For more information on Tennessee AEDs, please contact Cardiac Science AED specialist Mike Castleman.

Tours of Christchurch earthquake “Red Zone” include safety officers and AEDs

Karen Anderson — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:21:10 +0000

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were part of the preparation for the first public tours of the devastated central business district in Christchurch, New Zealand. On Feb. 22, 2011, a 6.3 earthquake just six miles from New Zealand’s second largest city killed 185 people and injured hundreds of others.

Coming just months after a 7.1 quake in the same region, the quake demolished already weakened structures, liquified the ground in entire neighborhoods, and forced closure of the city’s central business distract.

Red Cross safety officers with Powerheart G3 AEDs for the tour buses.

In the past year, the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has evaluated all the business district structures, and has slated many, including churches and historic buildings, for demolition. Beginning in December 2011, Project Olive gave members of the public their first opportunity to enter the Red Zone and see the demolition and restoration work in progress.

The New Zealand Red Cross helped organized the Project Olive bus tours, equipping each vehicle with a safety officer trained in First Aid and a Powerheart G3 AED. Safety procedures for the public tour into the still-hazardous demolition area were strict, requiring sturdy, closed shoes. Each bus was followed by a car in case a passenger needed to be removed from the Red Zone before the tour ended.

Daniel Tobin, and NZ News Service reporter who took the 40-minute silent tour (audio was available on personal media players, but users had to wear earphones), wrote about “the broken heart of the city” near the six-storey Canterbury Television building, where 115 people died.

The February 2011 earthquake, and subsquent quakes in June 2011 and December 2011, have resulted in heightened awareness of emergency preparedness and emergency response in New Zealand. For more information on first aid equipment and AEDs in New Zealand, please contact the New Zealand Red Cross.

New Jersey AED bills clear legislative committees

Karen Anderson — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:47:03 +0000

Janet’s Law, a bill to put automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in every school in New Jersey, has cleared committees in both the State Senate and the State Assembly. It will next go to a full vote of both houses.

New Jersey student Janet Zilinski, 11, died in 2006 after collapsing from sudden cardiac arrest at school. (Photo: janetzilinski.org)

Bill S-167 (and a companion bill in the Assembly) would require all public and private schools serving children in grades K through 12 to maintain on their premises a readily-accessible AED and to have five school employees certified in CPR and AED use. Janet’s Law is named in honor of the late Janet Zilinski, a New Jersey student who collapsed and died after a school cheerleading practice in 2006.

This legislation is championed by Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Somerset-Morris.

“Although doctors cannot predict when sudden cardiac arrest will occur, we can take precautions to react quickly and save lives regardless of whether the episode occurs during school hours or at an extracurricular event,” Bramnick said in a report carried by news site NewJerseyHills.com. “With proper training and access to an AED during an attack we can prevent tragedies such as Janet’s.”

Karen and Jim Zilinski, Janet’s parents, created the The Janet Fund to donate AEDs to New Jersey schools and playfields. More than 100 AEDs have already been provided.

The Zilinskis met with state legislators to advocate for Janet’s Law. They said more than 30 school children in the state have died of sudden cardiac arrest since her daughter’s death in 2006, while in states with school AED laws (New York, Ohio, and Texas), dozens of students’ lives have been saved.

“It can’t be about the money,” Jim Zilinski said. “It has to be about saving lives.”

Janet’s Law has support from organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association, American Red Cross, Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey, New Jersey Association of School Administrators, New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association, New Jersey State School Nurses Association, Parent Heart Watch, and the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation.

Proposed expansion of Good Samaritan protection

A second AED bill, intended to update the state’s existing Public Access to Defibrillation Law, passed the New Jersey Senate’s Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee in January and is headed for consideration by the full state Senate. The proposed legislation would expand the state’s “Good Samaritan” law and extend protection from civil liability to any individual who uses an AED in an emergency situation. Existing New Jersey law protects from liability only rescuers who hold current certifications in AED use.

The new bill would extend protection to all individual rescuers — and to organizations that own an AED and make the device available for public use.

Bill proponents point out that advances in AED technology now make it possible for an untrained person to conduct an AED rescue. Once a defibrillator is opened, the device provides step-by-step voice prompts that walk users through a rescue. As soon as pads are attached to a sudden cardiac arrest victim, the AED is capable of diagnosing a shockable condition, and will administer shock only if it is required.

“Hundreds of thousands of people die every year from sudden cardiac arrest, many of whom could be saved if an automated external defibrillator was nearby,” said state Sen. Joseph Vitale, who chairs the New Jersey Senate’s Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee. “Unfortunately, our current laws discourage organizations from acquiring a defibrillator, and put undo strain – including fear of lawsuits – on those who use the devices to save a person’s life. This legislation updates the law to protect those good Samaritans who go out of their way to try and save someone in cardiac arrest.”

NJToday.net reports that the bill’s supporters include the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation, which donates AEDs to schools, churches, and sports organizations. The foundation discovered that some organizations were reluctant to acquire an AED because of fear of liability if the AED were used.

For more information on New Jersey AEDs, please contact AED specialist Mark Peters.

Indiana police officers revive sudden cardiac arrest victim

Karen Anderson — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:39:29 +0000

In Seymour, Indiana, police cars are equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and officers are trained in CPR and AED use. On Dec. 23, Officers James Handley and Mat Carver put that equipment and training to use when they were the first responders to a call to assist an unconscious man.

Seymour, Indiana, police officers Mat Carver and James Handley with the Powerheart AED they used to save the life of a sudden cardiac arrest victim. (Photo: Aubrey Woods, TribTown.com)

According to the report on TribTown.com, the officers arrived to find a 56-year-old man unconscious and without a heartbeat. They began CPR and opened their Powerheart AED. A third officer, Brian Williams, arrived and assisted. As soon as the officers placed the pads on the man’s chest, the AED analyzed the victim’s cardiac activity and advised them to administer a shock.

“It advised to shock (him) and so we did,” Handley told TribTown.com. “At that point he began breathing on his own and had a heartbeat.”

An ambulance arrived and transported the man to the hospital, where he was later reported to be recovering.

Cardiac Science AED specialist Troy Pflugner noted that the quick response by trained officers made all the difference.

“They had a beating heart within two minutes,” he said.

Carver, a probationary officer, had attended CPR and AED training just two weeks earlier.

Investment in AEDs pays off: School saves a student’s life

Karen Anderson — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:59:41 +0000

A recent investment in automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for the Richland, Washington, school district paid off last week when one of the devices was used to restart the heart of a 15-year-old high school student who suffered sudden cardiac arrest.

Freshman Jeremy Brewer had been outside on the Richland High School campus with friends during lunch break when he suddenly fell to the ground. Students who saw him collapse summoned teachers, who went into action. While two ran to Jeremy’s aid and began CPR, others called 911 and raced to the school gym for a defibrillator.

As it happened, the school’s athletic director, Mike Edwards, was already on the way with a Powerheart AED from his office.

An article about the rescue in the local Tri-City Herald describes how the defibrillator’s audio prompts guided Edwards and the teachers, step by step, through the rescue. After Edwards attached pads from the device to Jeremy, the AED conducted an analysis and determined that an electric shock was required in order to restore a normal heart rhythm. It instructed rescuers to stand back. After administering the shock, the AED told staff to resume CPR.

Just a few minutes later an ambulance arrived and Jeremy was taken to a regional medical center. His heartbeat had been restored, but he required assistance breathing. He was later flown to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where he was reported to be on the road to recovery the following day.

Joan Gribskov, safety manager for the school district, told the Tri-City Herald that when the school district purchased the AEDs this past summer, they didn’t really expect they would be needed.

“We’re certainly thankful we decided to purchase them,” Gribskov said.

This video from KEPRTV.com says that the AED at the school is credited with saving Brewer’s life.

For more information on Washington school AEDs, please contact AED specialist Jeffrey Hoyt.

Family of Montana SCA victim donates AED to fire department

Karen Anderson — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:14:11 +0000

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association’s Big Sky Chapter Leader Daniel Turell with Laurel Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brent Peters and the Powerheart AED donated by the Duran family. (Photo: by Jennifer Ries)

The Laurel, Montana, Volunteer Fire Department has a new automated external defibrillator (AED), thanks to fundraising events hosted by the family of the late Leo Duran and to participation by Cardiac Science. Leo Duran, active in the local Jaycees, died in May 2011 after he was stricken by sudden cardiac arrest.

Daniel Turrell, leader of the Big Sky chapter of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA), and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Joanne Flynn attended the ceremony at which the AED was presented to the fire department. Turrell, a former New York firefighter and EMT, demonstrated the unit to a group that included Chief Brent Peters, Training Officer J.W. Hopper, and Ambulance Service Director Jan Faught and EMT Miguel Hernandez.

For more information on Montana AEDs, please contact AED specialist Kelly Lucas.

Teen who survived sudden cardiac arrest helps rescue classmate

Karen Anderson — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:17:48 +0000

Ward Alternative School Principal Grady Pruitt with Powerheart AED donated by the Indianapolis chapter of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Assocation. Wtih him, left to right: Kristi Polcsak, her son Tyler Byall, and school nurse Mary Hess.

18-year-old Fort Wayne, Indiana, high school senior Tyler Byall has confronted sudden cardiac arrest, not just once but twice in the past two years.

The first time was last September, when Byall’s heart stopped beating as he slept. Quick action on the part of his parents got him to the hospital, where he was revived using an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Last month, just a year and a day after his own brush with SCA, Byall was on hand to help when a classmate at North Side High School collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest. Byall was the first person on the scene when sophomore Abey Luttman suffered sudden cardiac arrest as she stood near her locker at the end of the school day. Another student ran for a teacher, who arrived to find Byall already assisting Abey.

“I knew what needed to be done somehow,” Byall told a reporter from Wane.com news. “We were there, and we did the chest compression and checked the pulse.”

While Byall and others did CPR, school’s nurse, Sunny Stachera, arrived moments later with the school’s AED. She was able to use the AED to revive Luttman, who was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Luttman, like Byall, now has an implanted defibrillator, and has been able to return to school.

Byall and school staff involved in the rescue were honored in by the Fort Wayne School board in October. The Indiana chapter of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association donated a Powerheart G3 AED to the Ward Alternative School in Fort Wayne in honor of Byall and his role in the rescue.

For more information about Indiana AEDs, please contact AED specialist Troy Pflugner.

Teachers use school AED to save the life of a 12-year-old student

Karen Anderson — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:11:58 +0000

We heard last week from a friend at Cook Children’s Hospital in Frisco, Texas, with the best news possible: Two teachers at a Maus Middle School using an automated external defibrillator (AED) had saved the life of a 12-year-old girl who had collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest.

According to reports on nbcdfw.com and myfoxdfw.com, seventh-grader Kylee Shea collapsed on her way to class. Students called teachers, who began CPR and got the school’s Powerheart AED from a nearby hallway. Teachers Brent Reese and Kristen Goodgion attached the AED, which diagnosed a shockable condition and administered a shock. By the time paramedics arrived, Kylee was alert and talking. One of the school’s hallway video cameras recorded the entire rescue.

Kylee was airlifted to the hospital, where doctors said that the timely use of the AED had saved her life.

“If it wasn’t for this machine and what they did, our daughter still may be with us today, but she wouldn’t be the Kylee we know,” Kylee’s dad, Mike Shea, told the local NBC news station.

Kylee, who had successful surgery to implant a heart pacemaker, was able to return to school this week. She appeared, along with her family and her teachers, on The Today Show to describe the rescue and talk about the importance of AEDs in schools.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

World Heart Day: Saving lives through education and action

Karen Anderson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:26:07 +0000

September 29 is World Heart Day, a time to focus attention on what can be done to promote heart health and prevent cardiac disease. Heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 17.1 million lives each year.

Across the globe people are holding events, conducting health screenings, and attending conferences on topics like healthy diet and exercise, cardiovascular research, cardiac rehabilitation, and heart-safe communities.

Here at Cardiac Science we’re thinking about the people we work with, all over the world, who are making their communities heart safe by installing automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Communities that create a chain of survival (awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, available AEDs, CPR- and AED-trained citizens, and well-prepared emergency services and hospitals) can increase survival rates for witnessed sudden cardiac arrest — usually about 5 percent — to as high as 50 percent.

Here are just a few of the innovative AED programs launched in recent months:

Escola Básica Integrada da Boa Água AED program, in Sesimbra (Setubal), Portugal. In December, 2010, this became the first school in Portugal to install an AED. The school, which has some 800 students, is equipped with a Cardiac Science Powerheart AED G3 and 12 school staff members have been trained by Med First and certified in AED use.

The University of Otago AED program in New Zealand. Twenty-five new AEDs were installed on campus and staff were encouraged to attend one-hour training courses offered by the New Zealand Red Cross.

The municipal PAD program in Girona, Spain. Girona launched the largest public access defibrillation (PAD) program in Spain with a purchase of 650 AEDs and more than 250 “intelligent” AED cabinets.

An innovative car-based AED program in the Czech Republic. In Prague, Powerheart AED G3s are deployed in Smart cars that can travel quickly throughout the city, even on the narrow streets of Prague’s Old Town.

AED training in Columbia, S.A. Proyecto Latir (“Project Heartbeat”) offers free CPR/AED training courses for private companies, hospitals, and government agencies.

A $10 million PAD program in Ontario, Canada. Government funds were allocated to put AEDs in public settings including hockey arenas, recreation centres, and high-activity schools in the province.

A map of the campaign to put AEDs at football clubs throughout Victoria.

Heart-safe sports fields throughout Victoria, Australia. Football clubs have taken the lead by raising more than $150,000 in private funding to equip sports facilities with AEDs.

Project Heartsafe, developed by Great Plains Ag Credit to increase heart safety in Texas. This group recently provided more than 70 Powerheart AED G3s to first responders and key public safety agencies in the Texas Panhandle.

Awareness of the effectiveness of a community-based approach to heart safety is spreading across the globe. World Heart Day is an ideal time to find out more about what you, your school, your workplace, and your community can do to prevent needless deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.

Sports program AED saves a 13-year-old’s life

Karen Anderson — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:06:21 +0000

What could have been a very sad start to the fall sports season at Azle Junior High in Azle, Texas, had a happy ending when bystanders used the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart a 13-year-old football player’s heart.

Firefighter Mike Leatherwood with a Powerheart AED G3 similar to the one used to save a seventh grader's life. (MyFoxDFW.com image)

The seventh grader was involved in a collision during the game Tuesday night and collapsed on the field. According to news reports, off-duty firefighter Mike Leatherwood, coach Tim Spoonemore, and nurse Rita White coordinated the rescue. The coach retrieved the school’s defibrillator and started CPR. Leatherwood used the Powerheart G3 AED to restart the boy’s heart.

“We hooked it up and the machine said one shock was advised,” Leatherwood told the Star-Telegram. “I gave him one shock and his pulse came back immediately.”

The boy, whose name was withheld at his family’s request, was flown to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth. He was reported to be in good condition the following morning. School administrators said that AEDs have been available at the school since 2007.

Find out more about the AED rescue in this MyFoxDFW.com video:

Adults Honored for Saving Collapsed Azle 7th Grader: MyFoxDFW.com

AED, ECG/EKG, Stress Test Machine, Holter, Cardiac Rehab, Diagnostic Connectivity » AEDs

Tennessee city chooses Powerheart G3 AED for park safety

Related Products

Tours of Christchurch earthquake “Red Zone” include safety officers and AEDs

New Jersey AED bills clear legislative committees

Proposed expansion of Good Samaritan protection

Related Products

Indiana police officers revive sudden cardiac arrest victim

Related Products

Investment in AEDs pays off: School saves a student’s life

Related Products

Family of Montana SCA victim donates AED to fire department

Related Products

Teen who survived sudden cardiac arrest helps rescue classmate

Related Products

Teachers use school AED to save the life of a 12-year-old student

World Heart Day: Saving lives through education and action

Related Products

Sports program AED saves a 13-year-old’s life

Related Products