Automatic defibrillators
Statistically, there are approximately 700,000 cases of cardiac arrest in Europe per year. Only 5-10% of them survive transfer to hospital. Early defibrillation and rapid (within 1-2 minutes) resuscitation can result in 60% survival.
WHAT IS CARDIAC ARREST?
Cardiac arrest (infarctus myocardii) is an irregular heartbeat, which can be characterized with no pulse or ventricular fibrillation. It is characterized by the agonal respiration (wheezing) or a full stop breathing and loss of consciousness. A cardiac arrest that lasts longer than 5-10 minutes can reverse hypoxic brain damage and also drastically reduced chances for reactivation of the heart.
The purpose of basic life support and use of automated external defibrillator is:
– Early recognition and call for emergency medical help
– Early implementation of basic measures for resuscitation (BLS), “buying time”
– Early defibrillation, reactivation of heart
– Early implementation of measures for continuing resuscitation (ALS)
The purpose of basic life support is to start with early resuscitation until a professional team arrives to take over the patient and transport him to an appropriate facility. The main goal is to enable non-medical persons to perform chest compressions (massage of the heart), which is also the main goal of resuscitation, enabling circulation.
Guidelines and recommendations for proper chest compression:
– Place the palms of your hands on the center of your chest
– Place one hand on top of the other
– Cross your fingers
– Chest compression
– Frequency of 100 min-1
– Depth of 4-5 cm
– Allow the chest to rise again
– The person doing the compression should be changed every two minutes
The automatic defibrillator is a device that can independently analyze the heart rhythm and recognize whether the heart needs defibrillation or not, that is, it can also be used by non-medical persons, which is actually its purpose. It is important to note that basic life support and the use of the external automatic defibrillator can also be applied by non-medical personnel.
For more detailed information, you can refer to the following document:
