It is estimated that around 60,000 people suffer from sudden cardiac arrests outside of hospital every year in the UK. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can happen to anyone, at any time, with over 80 per cent of those that suffer showing no prior symptoms at all.
SCA happens when a heart can no longer pump blood effectively around the body, so the victim collapses, stops breathing, becomes unresponsive and has no detectable pulse.
Defibrillation is the only proven treatment to restore a normal heart rhythm but waiting for the emergency services to arrive could cost a life as the chances of successful defibrillation decline at a rate of around 10% with each minute that passes. Many schools, leisure facilities and businesses are taking action by investing in AEDs as part of their health and safety strategy.
Over the past six years, we have been working with DW Fitness Clubs, one of the UK's leading fitness specialists, to build Lifeline Automated External Defibrillator's into their health and safety strategy. A total of 70 AEDs have been installed, one in each of their leisure clubs and hotels throughout the UK, and amazingly they have already saved more than 30 lives as a result of this.
Since survival rates can be as high as 75% if defibrillation is delivered quickly, the location of the AED is also paramount. AEDs should be kept in a central and prominent location where they can be easily located, not locked away in a cupboard. The Lifeline range of defibrillators has a distinctive colourful design to ensure that they are highly visible. At each DW Sports facility, for example, AEDs have been fitted in central areas following a thorough assessment to identify where the fitness clubs have the highest footfall.
The benefit of Lifeline AEDs is that they can be used effectively in an emergency situation without any prior training, allowing those who are first on the scene to respond immediately. The device is extremely simple to use and guides users through the whole process via voiced instructions and, as in the case of the Lifeline View, video instructions.
Many businesses, however, are going one step further by choosing to include defibrillator training in their first aid at work qualifications, to better equip staff to deal with these kind of emergency situations. At DW Sports, for example, all management staff hold first aid at work qualifications, which includes defibrillation, whilst other staff take part in bi-monthly training which includes regular sessions on using AEDs.
With more than 30 lives saved at DW Fitness Clubs across the country in just six years, it is clear that Automated External Defibrillators can form an invaluable part of any health and safety strategy and are a potentially life-saving asset.
Ian Couldwell is product manager at Martek Medical.
