| An
automated external
defibrillator (AED) is a device used
to deliver an electrical shock to the heart
(defibrillation) of a victim of sudden cardiac
arrest (SCA). |
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|
Unlike
a heart attack, in which blood flow to the heart
muscle is stopped, the primary cause of SCA is
ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening
condition in which the heart's normal electrical
activity becomes erratic, causing the heart to cease
pumping blood effectively? |
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| Did
You Know... |
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| …each
year in the United States SCA strikes an estimated
300,000 victims, of whom about 5 percent survive? |
| …many
victims of SCA have no history of heart disease, or
if heart disease is present, it has not functionally
impaired them? |
| …the
reported chances of survival of a SCA decrease by
approximately 10 percent with each passing minute
after the attack? |
| …defibrillation,
or restoring the heart's natural rhythm by applying
an electrical shock, is currently the only
definitive treatment for SCA? |
| …in
three separate studies of cardiac arrest in
supervised cardiac-rehabilitation centers, more than
90 percent of SCA victims were successfully
resuscitated? |
| …most
AEDs require minimal training, even for responders
who know nothing more than CPR? Many people agree
that it's easier to learn how to use an AED than to
learn CPR. |
| …the
AED is designed to deliver a shock only when the
device has detected the presence of a
life-threatening arrhythmia such as ventricular
fibrillation? Using a true AED, you cannot shock
someone accidentally. |
| …in
Rochester, Minnesota where police officers carry
AEDs because they often reach the scene of an SCA
first, the resuscitation rate has jumped to over 45
percent? |
| …approximately
150 million Americans go to work every day where
they spend more than half of their waking hours? |
| …many
factors in the workplace can increase the risk of
SCA, including large numbers of employees under one
roof, an aging work-force, and relatively remote or
highly secure locations? |
| …recent
studies have found that ventricular fibrillation
occurs most frequently on Monday mornings and Friday
afternoons, typically the most pressure-intensive
periods of the workday? |
| …it
is estimated that a broad deployment of AEDs could
prevent up to 100,000 unnecessary deaths in the
United States each year? |
