Defibrillators

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. If this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. SCA usually causes brain injury if it’s not treated within 3 minutes and death if it’s not treated within 5 minutes.

What is an AED?

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED), is a portable electronic device, that automatically diagnoses the life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of Ventricular Fibrillation (VF), and Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) in a patient who is suffering a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), and is able to treat the patient by delivering an electrical shock to Defibrillate the heart. This is done to try to re-establish an effective rhythm in the heart.

Once the domain of Hospital, and Ambulance settings, AEDs have been simplified for the layman to use in the public arena, therefor increasing chances of survival for victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Why is an AED needed?

Contrary to what many people believe, in 99% of cases, CPR alone will NOT revive a patient in Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). The heart is in an arrhythmia, and needs an electric shock to attempt to return it to a normal rhythm. This is a bit like re booting your computer. Without effective CPR, and defibrillation, the chance of survival decreases by 10% every minute.