Heart Attacks in Public Places|Healthy LifeStyle

Heart Attacks in Public Places

By: PATRICIA WOLOCH

As many as 200,000 Americans die annually of sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is also referred to as cardiorespiratory arrest, cardiopulmonary arrest, or circulatory arrest and cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to the heart failing to contract effectively. “Arrested” blood circulation prevents oxygen from getting to all parts of the body. If cardiac arrest goes untreated for five minutes, injury to the brain will most likely occur. In order to improve survival and neurological recovery of heart attack victims, immediate response is crucial.
Life-saving Technology
Devices known as automated external defibrillators (AED) have been put in many public places where heart attacks are known to happen frequently such as golf courses, gyms, sports arenas, theme parks, airplanes, shopping centers, and many other public areas. AEDs are portable electronic devices that automatically diagnose the potentially deadly cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia.
An AED is able to treat these life-threatening heart problems by application of electrical therapy, which stops the arrhythmia (rapid heartbeat), allowing the heart to re-establish a safe rhythm. If a person is already dead (flat-lined) the AED will not work.
Where are AEDs?
AED are usually placed in areas where older adults go and can be used by non-medical people. In order to make them more visible, AED’s are often brightly colored and are set in protective cases near the entrance/exit of a building. When these protective cases are opened and the defibrillator is removed, a buzzer will sound alerting staff that an AED is in use. Emergency medical personnel should be called to assist in any case where cardiac arrest is suspected.
If AED’s are available and used in time they are extremely effective in saving lives, and they have saved people’s lives that the standard of care according to Florida law is to have AED’s available in public places where heart attacks are known to happen frequently. A whopping 50,000 deaths could be prevented each year through the use of AED’s.
If you or a loved one could have been saved with the use of an AED in a public place in Orlando or anywhere in Florida, please visit the website of Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter today to schedule your initial consultation.