Cardiac arrests do not discriminate.
A sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, at any time.
Your heart stops beating normally and you lose consciousness.
No matter your age, gender, or ability there is no discrimination, it can be any one of us.
In fact, whether you live in a city or a rural village, your public access AED (automated external defibrillator) is literally a life-saver.
Most importantly, it gives the local community a feeling of safety and well-being.
Therefore, once you have one, you must let people know about it, and the basics of how to activate and use it.
The Resuscitation Council’s, “Chain of Survival”, says best practice for treatment of cardiac arrests is:
Early Recognition of Cardiac Arrest
First of all, check to see if they’re responsive and breathing. Gently tap on their shoulders, try to get a response. Then listen and feel for breath on your cheek and look for the rise and fall of their chest, check they’re breathing normally.
Early CPR
Secondly, begin CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation), immediately you know the person isn’t breathing, call the ambulance service and start chest compressions. Start with 30 and then give 2 rescue breaths and continue repeating this.
Importantly, don’t worry about hurting them, the person lying on the floor in front of you, is technically dead.
You can only improve their survival rate.
Early Defibrillation.
By investing in an AED it keeps our communities safe, but make sure everyone knows where they’re kept.
I recently visited a sports club, they have an AED, unfortunately, most members didn’t know it was kept on top of the kitchen cupboard.
Most importantly, a public access AED, must be available to anyone, because, nobody knows who may need it.
If you own a defibrillator, be generous, make it available for public use.
By registering your device with the ambulance service, you make sure they can tell people quickly, where and how to access it.
And it’s a good idea to know where your nearest AED is located, it makes an enormous difference to survival.
Early Hospitalisation
Firstly, this means getting them to professional medical care at the earliest possible time.
By alerting the ambulance service immediately you know the casualty isn’t breathing, you will get help quickly.
And don’t forget, funding a Public Access AED may be possible through the British Heart Foundation supported Heart Start.
Alternatively, we can direct you to a supplier for purchase or rental, from as little as 99p per day.
All CPR First Aid Training Courses include AED instruction.