450,000 PEOPLE ARE VICTIMS OF MASSIVE HEART ATTACKS EVERY YEAR

 
The statistic that 450,000 people are victims of massive heart attacks every year is a sobering one. Now, consider that among that group, approximately 225,000 people die each year without warning due to sudden cardiac arrest. As you can see, 50% of the people suffering such an event die. This puts into perspective just how deadly these events may be to anyone of us.

The good news is that there is a relatively new "wonder weapon" for countering the effects of sudden cardiac arrest and lessening the death rate. This device is called an automated external defibrillator or AED for short. AED's work by automatically analyzing the heart rhythms of a cardiac arrest victim and directing the user to press a button on the device that will deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heartbeat. However, there is more to this wonder weapon than the ability to deliver an electric shock. As the AED automatically analyzes the heart rhythms of a cardiac arrest victim, it will automatically determine cases where no shock is necessary, and it will not allow one to be delivered in those cases.

The American Heart Association, http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000 as well as the Federal government, strongly recommends that automated public-access defibrillators (AEDs) be placed in every workplace to increase survivability. Statistics from recent studies show that access to AED's may increase the survivability of a massive heart attack by up to 40%! In addition, studies show that for every minute that passes before a victim of a sudden cardiac arrest is defibrillated, the chances of survival drop by as much as 10 percent. Those are ample reasons to have AED's in or very near your workplace.

Most Federal agencies are establishing defibrillation programs to comply with the requirements of the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2000, which directed the placement of AED's in federal buildings around the nation. This Federal law directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop guidelines for placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in federal buildings, nation-wide. It also establishes "good Samaritan" provisions which provide protection from liability issues in those states which do not have such protection on the books.

As an example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded Cardiac Science, www.cardiacscienceaeds.com/fedw6, a leading manufacturer of life-saving AED's, a multi-year contract to supply AED's, provide comprehensive training, and AED program management services for its facilities throughout the country.

The number of victims of massive heart attacks appears to be rising, and unfortunately, we are saving on average only about 5 percent of these victims. However, there is something we can do about that tragic statistic. Implement a comprehensive AED program at your worksite and make it easier for us to use AED's to help save the lives of our fellow workers! The bottom line - AED's save lives!