Product category:
Personal protective equipment (PPE), devices
News Release from: Laerdal Medical | Subject: first aid defibrillator
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 February 2003
New defibrillator as breakthrough for
first aiders
Laerdal has developed a First Aid Defibrillator "Heartstart, that, with minimal training, can be used on cardiac arrest victims by members of the public, before the arrival of a paramedic.
Over 150,000 people die from sudden cardiac arrest in the UK every year, making it the UK's most common cause of sudden death Even with the advent of paramedic ambulances and the government's target of an eight-minute response time, we still have a less than 5 per cent survival to hospital rate
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 28 Apr 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Laerdal exhibits new defibrillator at Ambex.
At this year's Ambex, Laerdal Medical will be exhibiting the new Heartstart First Aid Defibrillator on Stand no. A14.
First aid defibrillator raises chance of survival
Laerdal has developed a First Aid Defibrillator "Heartstart" that, with minimal training, can be used on cardiac arrest victims by members of the public, before the arrival of a paramedic.
In up to 85 per cent of cardiac arrests, the heart simply loses its rhythm, and goes into ventricular fibrillation (VF).
A heart in VF requires urgent, definitive treatment rather than CPR which simply "buys time" until the ambulance arrives.
If a shock from a defibrillator is passed through the heart within 2-3 minutes, the patient's chances of survival will be increased by over 50 per cent.
Further reading
Early defibrillation saves lives!
The chances of survival for an (SCA) victim are increased by 50 per cent if defibrillation is administered within two to three minutes of collapse.
Sunderland school learns chain of survival skills
Thornhill School, Business and Enterprise College in Sunderland has become one of the first schools in Britain to purchase a defibrillator for use in the community.
More lives saved with early defibrillation
Early defibrillation saves a life in shopping centre.
Laerdal Medical has developed a First Aid Defibrillator "Heartstart, that, with minimal training, can be used safely and effectively on cardiac arrest victims by members of the public, before the arrival of a paramedic.
Laerdal is to launch Heartstart at this year's Safety and Health Show, both on the Laerdal Stand no.
C80; on the St John's Ambulance Stand no.
S40, and on "The Runway" where it can be seen "saving a life" in a choreographed scenario.
Heartstart is safe, user-friendly, and will not shock unless the heart is in VF.
It takes you through the defibrillation procedure step by step with an automated "voice" that waits for you to react to one command before prompting the next step.
If no action is taken the command will be repeated, and there are comprehensive diagrams on the defibrillator casing to support the audible instructions.
Once the heart is beating normally again, CPR can be administered to keep the patient "breathing" until professional help arrives.
Heartstart continually monitors the rhythm of the heart and should it go into VF again, the defibrillator will resume instructions for re-defibrilllation.
The Resuscitation Council (UK) states that "At present there is no statutory legal requirement under English law to provide a defibrillator, but liability may arise under common law for failure to take adequate safeguards to protect the public present at a facility.
The risk of a member of the public sustaining a cardiac arrest at any given facility can reasonably be balanced against the cost of purchase, installation and maintenance of AEDs, and of initial and ongoing training of staff to use the devices." Additionally the Council advises that AEDs should be available where the time to shock from collapse is more than five minutes, and recommends that certain industries and public places should have an AED.
These include: Gyms and leisure centres; Transport facilities, airports, railway and bus stations; Supermarkets and shopping centres.
Laerdal's UK sales manager Tony Kemp, explains, "Statistics from the British Heart Foundation conclude that coronary heart disease is still the single most common cause of death in men and women in the UK today, accounting for one in four men and one in six women.
"Early, pre-hospital defibrillation can dramatically increase the number of patients that survive a heart attack to be discharged from hospital.
"The more people who are able to administer defibrillation in an emergency, the better these statistics will get".
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