YouTube - Shocking 12 year olds!

My 12 year old son Finbar and his good friend Aleena show just how easy it is to use an AED and perform CPR on manikin `Joe` !
As Finbar says "If a 12 year old can do it, so can you". He`s absolutely right!

YouTube - Shocking 12 year olds!

Study Links Genetic Variation To Possible Protection Against Sudden Cardiac Arrest

By identifying what genes protect against Sudden Cardiac Arrest it may well pave the way to help predict those most at risk, which is a fabulous step towards prevention.

Study Links Genetic Variation To Possible Protection Against Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Should we Screen Healthy Children ? | the place where doctors blog

I think the conclusion from this has to be absolutely yes!. What price, (£100 screening ECG) can you put on a childs life?
Should we Screen Healthy Children ? the place where doctors blog

The Ultimate Gift You Hope Never to Use!

A home defibrillator really is the ultimate gift, the gift of life and of course the hope is you will never have to use it. But what if the unimaginable happened and you did witness a cardiac arrest of someone close to you, a husband, wife or colleague, perhaps a neighbour or guest? If you haven't got an AED then you cant think, oh well! next time! Its too late by then! The chances of survival without defibrillation are almost zero, so for 40p per day isn't it a good investment/ insurance?

The Ultimate Gift You Hope Never to Use!

Football stadiums lack equipment to deal with heart attacks | The Sun |Woman|Health|Health|Dr Keith Hopcroft

Finally the story of AED in paucity in the UK is gaining momentum. With the Northern Ireland Health Secretary creating the initiative of free AEDs in all sports clubs in NI, it beggars belief why the rest of the UK don't follow suit.

Football stadiums lack equipment to deal with heart attacks The Sun WomanHealthHealthDr Keith Hopcroft

Resuscitation Council (UK) statement on AEDs in locked cabinets

Guidelines recommending AED cabinets should not be locked. Quite right, immediate access when needed........... immediately, no faffing around. Well done the Resus Council and BHF.

Resuscitation Council (UK) statement on AEDs in locked cabinets

Running and Coronary Calcium

This is really odd. Last weeks piece of research said it was that clinically obese people who have less risk of sudden cardiac arrest than normal and fat people and now this! Long-term Marathon runners seem to fur-up their coronary arteries quicker than normal people. They re not sure why but it seems counter-intuitive?

Running and Coronary Calcium

Preventing Sports-Related Sudden Cardiac Arrest Deaths in Children

This is a story of success from the mother of an 11 year old boy who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest whilst playing sport and was saved before the emergency services arrived by quick thinking parents and the fact the facility had an AED. She is determined to see AEDs far more available to potentially save many more lives.

Preventing Sports-Related Sudden Cardiac Arrest Deaths in Children

Safety Should Be Priority for Those Involved in Kids' Sports - Drugs.com MedNews

Lots of good advice here for parents to watch out for on behalf of their children participating in sport. In particular the need for teachers/ coaches to be trained in CPR and AED use. That seems to assume they have rapid access to an AED! Ask your school/ sports club if they have one, and if not, why not!

Safety Should Be Priority for Those Involved in Kids' Sports - Drugs.com MedNews

The Defib Centre Opens its Doors to Raise Awareness of the Tragic Loss of Life f by The Defib Centre

Were trying to get the word out there!! Lets hope it works and lots more AEDs are placed where they are needed to save lives......................... everywhere!!!

The Defib Centre Opens its Doors to Raise Awareness of the Tragic Loss of Life f by The Defib Centre

BBC News - Sports clubs offered life-saving defibrillator course

Its really great to see initiatives like this happening, my simple question is...... why only in Northern Ireland and not the remainder of the UK. If Stormont can see the value of having AEDs in all NI sports clubs to save lives why cant the UK government follow the lead and offer some incentive for all sports clubs/ arenas/ entertainment venues here receive to the same treatment?

BBC News - Sports clubs offered life-saving defibrillator course

Defibrillators up survival rate

This is a more readable article than the Japanese research paper below. The increased access to AEDs in Japan more than doubled the chance of survival from a cardiac arrest. Lets hope the UK follows suit asap!

Defibrillators up survival rate

NEJM -- Nationwide Public-Access Defibrillation in Japan

This authoritative and massive report confirms the value of rapid access to AEDs in public places.
It bears relevance to the UK where sadly we are way behind many other countries where AEDs are literally everywhere. In some states in America you are never more than 2.5 minutes away from a defibrillator.
NEJM -- Nationwide Public-Access Defibrillation in Japan

As girth grows, risk of sudden cardiac death shrinks | ScienceBlog.com

This seems completely at odds with what one might expect! Recent research suggests that obese people are at less risk of suffering a sudden cardiac arrest than underweight, normal weight or fat people. How strange!
I don't think this is a good enough reason for going off and piling on the pounds.......... but its tempting!

Read on.

As girth grows, risk of sudden cardiac death shrinks ScienceBlog.com

Someone 2 Know: Peggy Willis - KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video -

This is what I mean by saying using an AED is so simple and can save a life. The woman in this article discovered her boss had had a cardiac arrest, knew there was a defibrillator in the office, she hadnt ever seen or used an AED before but followed the introductions and shocked him back to life.

She had nothing to lose, he was dead and she saved him. Fantastic.

My new motto is "Better to try than leave to die"

Someone 2 Know: Peggy Willis - KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video -

foodconsumer.org - Why Doctors Believe the “New” CCR Will Save Many More Lives than CPR…

Continuous chest compression (CCR), better than CPR and no longer the need for mouth to mouth. Watch the video! Better to try than to leave to die!


Why Doctors Believe the “New” CCR Will Save Many More Lives than CPR…

A new beat in heart research

This is a research article that has identified disruption to electrtical ion flow in channels of the heart and how these may become mutated leading to conduction problems and sudden cardiac arrest. The researchers hope to create a new drug which will solve the mutation.

A new beat in heart research

Good news for coffee drinkers

Good news? It seems that drinking coffee could actually protect the heart from arrhythmia!

Coffee and Arrhythmia Link

One of the surprisingly safer places to suffer a cardiac arrest!

Have you ever thought about what casino clients prize more than anything?


You may think that they would say “money” as otherwise why would they be in a casino, but you would be wrong! Although most of your gamblers would love to hit the jackpot, most would say that they value their life more, as without it their winnings are meaningless.

Unfortunately, in the UK nearly 2000 people every week lose their lives to a cardiac arrest. That adds up to an astonishing 150,000 each year! At least 84% of cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital environment. Although some of these people may have a history of heart disease, many will not. Cardiac arrest can strike suddenly and without warning. Once it strikes, in order to have a decent chance of survival, the sufferer must receive an electric shock to their heart from a Defibrillator within the first 4-6 minutes of the arrest. Without defibrillation, after 10 minutes they will almost certainly be dead.

It is well documented that stress (excitement), alcohol and recreational drug use are key factors in precipitating this condition, even in the apparently fit and healthy. In the USA where these facts are accepted and acknowledged- most casino’s are equipped with Automated External Defibrillators(AED’s) as part of their standard first aid equipment.

In a well documented study carried out in Las Vegas, survival rates from cardiac arrest rose to a staggering 74% when they were treated by casino staff with an AED. The usual survival rate for out of hospital cardiac arrest is 2%!

Some fear the liability of owning and operating AEDs. However, with the increasingly widespread availability of these machines, this concern may be shifting - those without AEDs may be exposing themselves to legal risk. In September 2000, United Airlines agreed to pay $18 million to a woman whose 37-year-old husband died on a plane that had not been equipped with a defibrillator. With very clear guidelines in place from both the European and UK Resuscitation councils advocating AED placement in venues where many people gather, by not having an AED you business is exposed to risk.

AED’s are simple to operate, require minimal training (they are designed to be easy enough for untrained people to use in an emergency) and are now very affordable.

Why wait until it’s too late?

Federal Aviation Administration Selects Partners For Nationwide AED Program -- MINNEAPOLIS, March 5 /PRNewswire/ --

FANTASTIC NEWS.

HeartSine Technologies is selected above all other competitors to supply the FAA in The United States with 3000 AED`s over the next 5 years!

The FAA coould have chosen from anyone and picked HeartSine, thats why The Defib Centre only sells their AED`s! Read why.

Federal Aviation Administration Selects Partners For Nationwide AED Program -- MINNEAPOLIS, March 5 /PRNewswire/ --

This article offers compelling evidence of the value of AED`s in schools!

One of the campaigns we are determined to get under way is `Your Hands Their Heart` where AED and CPR traing kits are provided to as many schools as possible. Then we need to get the AED`s on site too.
Unlike adults kids are not frightened by technology, they play with X-boxes, Playsations, computers all day, every day. An AED would hold no mystery for them!
Things have moved on since the days or `ER and Casualty` on tv, no longer the big paddles with gloop hanging off and the terrifying call of "stand clear". Nowdays just 2 buttons to press and thats it! A study in `Circulation` magazine compared 12 year old school children who had never seen an AED before with trained paramedics and the kids took just 23 seconds on average longer than the medics to deliver an effective shock!
A new generation of live savers potentially waiting in the wings!

Preparation saves Western student’s life

More defibrillators needed in sports stadiums

This article identifies the paucity of life saving automated external defibrillators (AED`s) in football stadiums. A venue with lots of people, lots of adrenalin and lots of potential for heart attacks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8546070.stm

Ask your sports venue, football, rugby, tennis, golf, horse racing if they have an AED for the spectators as well as the players! This equally applies to music venues, night clubs and restaurants! 

 

In some countries, especially the United States it is compulsory to have AED`s located where there will be more than 50 people at one time. Why is this not the case in the UK? Why are we so far behind?