Emergency Preparedness Kits – Office Defibrillator

These recommendations are not made lightly. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) kills approximately 450,000 adults in the United States every year. The American Heart Association recommends defibrillation (delivering an electric shock to the heart) within three to five minutes or sooner for cardiac arrests occurring outside of the hospital. That’s because survival rates drop seven to ten percent for every minute without defibrillation. When AEDs are readily available, the lifesaving results can be dramatic. Studies have shown that survival rates as high as 74% can be achieved with an effective AED program in place, the federal AED legislation is a good place to start in helping you prepare your AED program.

Sudden cardiac arrest almost always strikes without warning and can happen to anyone no matter what their age or health situation is. Treating an SCA immediately is necessary for the prevention of brain damage or death. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is not enough to save a person suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. CPR only keeps oxygen flowing to the victim’s brain; defibrillation restarts the heart, something that CPR cannot do.

Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart’s electrical signals, the ones that control the pumping of the blood from the heart to the body, are interrupted. The ventricles (the left and right chambers of the heart) start quivering instead of contracting or pumping blood. If this ventricular fibrillation is allowed to continue for more than five minutes, brain damage or death will occur. Defibrillation is the only way to get the heart’s rhythm back to normal.

Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to the heart is interrupted by a blockage in one or more arteries. If the blockage isn’t treated quickly, the heart muscle begins to die, and death can occur. Signs of a heart attack include chest discomfort or pain, discomfort in the upper body – in one or both arms, the stomach, back, neck or jaw, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness, or breaking out in a cold sweat.

Signs of sudden cardiac arrest are quite apparent and very sudden and usually happen without warning, unlike the signs of a heart attack. In an SCA, the victim loses consciousness and stops breathing. An AED is the only way to get the heart beating again.