Automatic External Defibrillators Save Lives

Lay Rescuers Do Make a Differnce

It can happen anywhere, anytime. On the beach, on the golf course, even on vacation. In fact studies have shown that almost anyone, anywhere can be at risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the sudden cessation of cardiac rhythm and effective pumping of the heart. It occurs without warning it can occur in someone old or young, and it is different from a heart attack in that a heart attack is the blockage of a blood vessel in the heart with the loss of heart muscle. Dr Randle Wolff, MD Medical Director of Delray Beach Fire Rescue explains that people often confuse Sudden Cardiac Arrest with a heart attack. "A heart attack occurs with symptoms such as chest pain shortness of breath breaking out in a sweat, pain in the chest sometimes radiating into the jaw and down the arms. So it's a number of symptoms that can onset gradually and they sometimes persist over a period of time before people need or get help. On the other hand Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs without warning, and the patient will loose circulation to their brain, to the rest of their body and loose consciousness suddenly."

In the event of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation or CPR can help keep a victim alive until skilled professionals arrive. But according to the American Heart Association the only way to increase the chances of actually surviving the episode is by early defibrillation. Dr. Wolff explains: "In the Sudden Cardiac Arrest victim, the malfunction that causes this problem is a sudden change of rhythm of the heart. This rhythm is usually characterized by what we call ventricular fibrillation, which is an irregular rhythm that occurs in the heart. What happens in the heart it changes from a nice regular squeezing action to a very irregular motion of the heart so that there is no more effective circulation to the body. A patient who has suffered this needs intervention very quickly one needs to shock the heart back into a regular rhythm, and that act of shocking we call defibrillation.