Why Aren't AEDs Being Used In An Emergency?

POSTED: Monday, May 16, 2011
UPDATED: 6:03 pm EDT May 16, 2011

Automated external defibrillators or AEDs are becoming a common sight in schools, gyms and businesses. Even local elementary school children have been trained to run and grab the device in an emergency.
But experts said too often these lifesaving devices are not being used when an emergency happens.
Puran Raber's 16-year-old son Ian's heart stopped after he was struck in the chest by a baseball at Avondale High School. The school has two AEDs, but neither was brought to the scene or used to restart Ian's heart.
"I walked through the gym doors, and I saw him laying on the floor. And EMS was working on him, and I ran over and I looked at him and I just started crying," said Raber. "I said 'Do you have a pulse?' And they said, 'No we don't.'"
Paramedics were eventually able to restart Ian's heart, but his parents wonder if he would have had an easier recovery if an AED had been used immediately or if someone had performed CPR.
"That morning, if anyone had gotten that defibrillator and brought it to Ian's side, then maybe somebody would have used it. But it never entered anybody's mind to go get it," said Raber.
Raber's story highlights a basic flaw in the AED system -- they're only effective if a bystander is willing and able to use them.
"AEDs don't save lives. People using an AED save lives," said Dr. Robert Swor, the director of Emergency Research at Beaumont Hospital.
Swor said there a two sets of problems involving AED use.
"One is physically where is the device? Do people know where it is? Is it locked up? And then there's the other problem where cardiac arrest is a scary situation, and certainly they're confusing for people," said Swor.
Dr. Frank McGeorge reported in an emergency, some people simply freeze up and don't act. Others are afraid of hurting someone by doing CPR or using an AED, and the majority may not recognize that someone needs an AED.
There are no firm statistics on how often an AED goes unused in an emergency, but researchers have studied similar situations involving CPR.
Swor's research found when bystanders trained in CPR witnessed someone in cardiac arrest, only 35 percent actually did CPR. The majority, 65 percent, did not perform CPR.
McGeorge said many people don't realize an AED won't deliver a shock unless it's needed, so there's no need to be concerned about hurting someone accidentally.
Swor said choosing not to use an AED dramatically reduces someone's chance of surviving cardiac arrest.
"If you get defibrillated after a cardiac arrest in a public place, your chance of survival is about 40 percent. Usually 5 to 10 percent of people survive a cardiac arrest overall. So, they're dramatic in their ability to improve survival," said Swor.
Experts said it's crucial for facilities that have an AED to make sure several people are trained to use the device and that training is repeated on a regular basis. Parents and employees need to ask where the defibrillators are, how many people have been trained and how often that training is being repeated.
Avondale Schools Superintendent George Heitsch told Local 4 they are thankful Ian is back in school and doing well. Heitsch said because of Ian's accident, the district plans to increase AED training to include annual refresher classes districtwide at the beginning of each school year. Avondale High School will also soon be getting a third defibrillator.
"What we really need people to do is act," said Swor. "Call 911 and start doing CPR. And if there's a defibrillator available, get it."
Raber is now working with her children's schools to make sure what happened after Ian's accident never happens again.
"I thank God every single night that he gave him back to us," said Raber.
To learn more about how to use an AED, click here.

Copyright 2011 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Teen Rescues Another Teen

BONITA BEACH, Fla. -- A Bonita Beach teen is being called a hero for rescuing another teen in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. The South Fort Myers High School student says he was just doing what anyone else would have done.

A swimmer is recovering thanks to the quick thinking of a 16-year-old at Bonita Beach. The teen that saved the swimmer is remaining humble and said he was just in the right place at the right time.

"The tide was about up to here and that's when I heard the screams for help and they were right out there," said Matt McKnight, who saved a swimmer over the weekend.

McKnight is not your typical 16-year-old.

"A lot of people have been saying i'm a hero but I don't really feel like one," said McKnight.

Sunday afternoon he was working and said the Gulf of Mexico was a dangerous place to go for a swim.

"It was a little rougher than most," said McKnight.

With strong rip currents happening, McKnight said two brothers were playing in the water when something went wrong. At first he thought screams were kids playing around and then realized it was no joke.

"I hear help, help. I look out there and there is two heads floating and the one went under and didn't pop back up," said McKnight.

With a boogie board in hand, McKnight didn't think twice and quickly swam to help.

"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time," said McKnight.

He and another woman were able to pull the two brothers to the beach. Mcknight said he has a boater safety card and knows a little about CPR. He just hopes the brothers stay safe when wading in the water.

"Hopefully I'll see them out on the beach again," said McKnight.

As for those two brothers who were taken from the water, at last check, WINK News was told they were breathing on their own when they were transported to the hospital.



Read more: http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2011-05-16/South-Fort-Myers-High-School-student-saves-teen-from-near-drowning#ixzz1Mc3i7fvB

High school tragedy averted by local heroes

Two Comsewogue coaches revive student who collapsed in gym

By Elana GlowatzWrite The Author
Port Times Record
May 12, 2011 | 12:33 PM

The three-on-three intramural basketball game last Wednesday evening, May 4, had barely started when junior Hope Reindl collapsed on the floor of the Comsewogue High School gymnasium.

Coaches Rick Miekley and Justin Seifert came to the girl's aid. Reindl was unconscious, but still breathing, the coaches said. However, the girl's breathing became labored and soon stopped completely.

Comsewogue coaches Justin Seifert and Rick Miekley, seen here with Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher, were honored this week by the County Legislature for their ‘brave acts.’ Photo from Matt DeVincenzo. (click for larger version)
"When we got to her, she wasn't responding," Seifert said.

"Her face started to turn purple" and she didn't have a pulse, Miekley said. He started CPR while Seifert called for an ambulance and sent a student to retrieve the automated external defibrillator that is mounted on the hallway wall between the doors to the gym. Together, the coaches put the device's pads on Hope's chest.

Seifert said the AED "detected her heart was in distress" and advised them to clear and shock her, which they did, then continued CPR until the paramedics arrived. "That was the longest probably three and a half to four minutes of our lives," Seifert said.

According to Miekley, the AED's record shows Hope returned to a normal heartbeat after it delivered the shock. He said the paramedics hooked up intravenous lines and intubated Hope before rushing her to the hospital.

Carl Reindl, Hope's father, said Monday his daughter is doing better and has been home from the hospital since Saturday. "She's eating, doing everything a normal kid would do." Still, Reindl said his daughter would be staying home from school for two weeks on doctor's orders.

The Reindl family lives around the corner from the high school, Carl said, and his wife was able to get to the school while Hope was still on the gym floor. He was at a diner nearby and hurried over as well.

Carl said Hope doesn't have a history of heart problems and has been in top condition playing softball year-round for the past five years. He called the incident at the gym "just one of those things."

The fast action of the coaches "saved my daughter's life," Carl said. "There's no doubt about it."

Hope Reindl, a varsity softball player at Comsewogue high school, is currently at home recovering. Photo from Carl Reindl. (click for larger version)
Seifert said Hope is "one of the most remarkable young ladies I've ever met," adding she is strong to have fought through something like this.

Miekley called it a "miracle" that Hope pulled through.

Although the coaches are certified yearly in CPR, neither Miekley nor Seifert had ever faced a situation like that before. "When I started CPR, it was just surreal," Miekley said. Although he was in disbelief, he said, "it was a matter of remaining calm and just going through the motions."

Seifert said the situation was the most frightening and intense of his life, but "not much goes through your head except her at that moment."

According to Athletic Director Matt DeVincenzo, Seifert and Miekley received a proclamation May 10 from the Suffolk County Legislature for their "brave acts." He said he is proud of them and "very thankful that my coaches are well-trained and they kept their composure." From his perspective, the athletic director said Hope's well-being "far exceeds any state championship."

Principal Joe Coniglione said defibrillators are located in the main hallways of the high school. Coniglione said AEDs had never been used before last Wednesday "and we never plan on using them again."

Cardiac Arrest Less Deadly in Exercise Facilities, Study Finds

50% of victims survived, compared with 36% in other indoor public places
Posted: May 5, 2011

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- You stand a better chance of survival if your heart stops beating while you're in an exercise facility than if you're in another type of indoor public place, a new study found.


Overall, 50 percent of cardiac arrest victims survived if the attack occurred in a public place where some sort of exercise was happening, whereas only 36 percent of those who experienced cardiac arrest in other indoor public places survived. Exercise facilities included places traditionally thought of, such as gyms and fitness clubs, as well as places considered alternative exercise venues, such as bowling alleys and dance studios.

"Survival from sudden cardiac arrest with prompt resuscitation can really be quite high at exercise facilities," said lead researcher Dr. Richard L. Page, a cardiac electrophysiologist and chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin. "That relates to the fact that people are healthier, they're feeling fit enough to go exercise, and they had a higher likelihood of CPR."

"We shouldn't just be deploying [automated external defibrillators] at fitness clubs," Page said. "We ought to consider less traditional exercise facilities as having patients at risk who could benefit from prompt resuscitation."

Though it's often confused with heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest is actually a different phenomenon.

Heart attack is a "plumbing problem," Page said. A blockage in the vessels of the heart cuts off blood flow, and part of the heart muscle dies. In some cases, a cardiac arrest can also occur.

Sudden cardiac arrest, Page explained, is caused by a disruption in the heart's electrical system. "You're unconscious within seconds and you're dead in 10 minutes if you don't get CPR and a defibrillation," he said. "The chance of survival is only a couple percent if you can't get immediate attention."

The goal of defibrillation is to reset the heart so it will return to a normal rhythm.

In their research, Page and his colleagues studied where cardiac arrests occurred in the Seattle area -- in indoor public places only -- between 1996 and 2008. They found 960 cases, 150 of which occurred at exercise facilities.

In the exercise facilities, 90 percent of the victims were men, 77 percent got CPR, 16 percent were treated with an automatic defibrillator machine and 50 percent survived.

Elsewhere in indoor public places, 75 percent of victims were men, 55 percent got CPR, 7 percent were treated with an automatic defibrillator machine and 36 percent survived.

At the exercise facilities, researchers found that 16 percent of the cardiac arrest sufferers were playing basketball, 9 percent were dancing, 9 percent "working out," 8 percent were on a treadmill and 8 percent each were playing tennis, bowling, swimming or weight lifting.

Though exercise is good for you overall, it does raise the risk for cardiac arrest, said Page, former president of the Heart Rhythm Society.

When asked why bowling alleys have so many cases of cardiac arrest, considering that bowling isn't a high-impact form of exercise, Page said the answer might lie in the fitness of bowlers and the atmosphere at a bowling alley, where people may be drinking alcohol.

He suggested that automatic defibrillators, which are often required in certain public places, should be placed in bowling alley s and dance studios, too. The machines typically cost $2,000 to $3,000.

Dr. Byron K. Lee, director of the electrophysiology laboratories and clinics at the University of California, San Francisco, said that though the study was interesting, it did not say whether the various physical activities boosted the risk for cardiac arrest over "baseline." Nor, he said, did it provide enough information to confirm whether the risk is high enough to warrant defibrillators in those places.

The study was to be presented Thursday in San Francisco at an annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society. Experts note that research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary because it has not been subjected to the rigorous scrutiny given to research published in medical journals.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on defibrillators.

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

High School Student Dies at Track Meet

EAU CLAIRE (WEAU) - A 16-year-old high school student has died during a track meet in eastern Wisconsin.

It happened about 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in Brillion at the middle school. Police say the student ran a short distance on the track when he collapsed. Staff at the school called 911, while students performed CPR, but he later died at a local hospital.

The school is now providing counseling for the students.

[Blogger's Note: It's really not clear whether the CPR performed was adequate or timely, and it's really not clear whether there was an AED at the track meet.]

It makes a huge difference

by STEVE ALBERTS / KVUE News
Bio | Email | Follow: Salberts@kvue.com
Posted on April 29, 2011 at 6:31 PM

Get well cards line the dining room table of Bob and Donna Herrick's home in Northwest Austin.
“It warms your heart to realize that people care that much,” said Donna Herrick.

Calls of concern keep pouring in for Bob. “I'm doing a lot better,” he said. “ I appreciate your call.”

On Thursday, April 28, Bob just finished washing windows at the Starbucks located at Anderson Lane and Rockwood in North Austin. He was walking to his van when he collapsed in the parking lot.

Lauren Jones, a former cardiac nurse, was inside. Jones and two other people, a Starbucks manager and another customer, rushed to help.

“Bob was not breathing,” explained Jones. “He was blue. He had no pulse. Carrie continued to give CPR and I relieved her.”
The women continued CPR until paramedics arrived.

“I continued to tell him, 'Donna [his wife] is coming, and she needs to see you,'” said Jones. “You need to stay with us.”
Jarrod Frame is one of the medics who responded to the call. He says every minute that passes without CPR reduces the victim's chances of survival.

“It's critical when we have bystander CPR,” said Frame. “It gives us a head start and gives the patient a much better outcome.”
Doctors say Herrick suffered from cardiac arrest -- the sudden or abrupt loss of heart function. It is not the same as a heart attack.

Herrick is 69 years old. His doctors have since installed a pace maker.
“With the implant I'll never have to worry of that ever happening again,” said Herrick.

For Donna Herrick the scare of losing her husband, her life partner, is beyond words. “There are no words that I can say that convey how much we appreciate what they did for myself and my family,” she said. “It makes me feel really good and especially during a time when people would just walk away or not get involved,” said Bob Herrick.

People -- total strangers -- did get involved. It was their quick thinking and kindness that helped save Bob's life.

He is being put on a strict exercise regimen. He will also help his wife run their window washing business from home.

3 teams, clear skies, then lightning

WOODTV.com - Grand Rapids
Updated: Thursday, 28 Apr 2011, 9:22 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 27 Apr 2011, 1:24 PM EDT

By Ken Kolker
PORTAGE, Mich. (WOOD) - The 20-year-old man struck by lightning in a Portage park Tuesday night is now listed in good condition at a local hospital, and sources told 24 Hour News 8 he would not have survived without a bystander giving him CPR.

Oscar Garcia was struck by lightning high up in his body -- likely in his head. The charge went through him, knocked his cleats off, dispersed through the ground and injured at least 11 other people. At one point, Garcia's heart stopped.

At the time the lightning hit at 6:50 p.m., witnesses told 24 Hour News 8 there were three soccer teams practicing -- two mens teams and an under-14 team -- at Westfield Park on West Milham Road.

Of the 12 people hurt, three were children. Seven were taken to a hospital by ambulance and five others sought treatment on their own.

The National Weather Service issued a thunderstorm warning at 6:04 p.m. Tuesday for Kalamazoo County. About 45 minutes later, while that warning was still in effect, the soccer field remained crowded with players.

"We were aware there were storms in the area," said Levi Butcher, a junior team coach. "We had just thought they had parted. We had no warning about it being issued a warning -- just a watch."

Witnesses saw a clear blue sky with dark clouds to the west. Then lightning, a short burst of hail and a double rainbow in the space of 10 minutes.

"We hear some, we see some, but it was far away," said Jesus Vargas, one of the injured men. "We see the lightning, but not where we was, because it wasn't even raining or anything. It was fine, and this one -- it just come like that, you know."

Firefighters said Wednesday this incident should serve as a warning about the dangers of lightning.

"This is just a tragic example of what happens when people are out in an exposed area when lightning strikes," said Randolph Lawton, the Portage fire chief.