Essay by: ISP094
Sudden cardiac arrest is a common health care problem that can occurs to an estimated 500,000 people a year. Imagine if one of the 500,000 was your mother, father, sister and/or best friend. Wouldn’t you want the fastest and most effective opportunity to save their life? This is why AED’s should be installed in all public places. AED’s are the essential tool in a life or death situation such as cardiac arrest. CPR has also been proven to be very effective in saving a life but if CPR does not help the patient fully recover an AED can give that person a second chance.
In order to understand why we need AED’s in all public places you need to understand how it works. The AED asses if the patient needs defibrillation. This means that the patient’s heart rhythm is in such a dangerous state it needs the electric shock to start back up. Once the shock is sent through the AED it then prompts then people helping the victim on what to do next. Now, this can sound like a lot but these AED’s are so easy to use. They have simple step by step directions audile to you and even if you have never even opened one before you can easily save a life. AED’s are best used in conjunction with CPR and CPR is not to be forgotten. Once you see someone go into cardiac arrest you should immediately assess the patient is not breathing, call for help, stay with the patient, and begin CPR, and then have someone find you the available AED.
There are a few things about the AED you should also know while using it. There are pads inside the AED to be placed on the patient’s chest to send the shock to the heart. Now, these next few sentences are important! First, there are adult pads and pediatric pads, use accordingly. Second, if the patient is sweaty from working out make sure to wipe the sweat off the patient. The patient does not have to be completely dry for the pads to work efficiently. Lastly, if the patient is a male and has some hair on the chest there is a razor in the AED kit that can be used quickly and safely to give an accurate electric shock. Also if you are wondering where to place the pads all just look at the picture guide on each pad for help.
Now that you know a little more about the AED you need to start to be aware of what they look like. When you walk into a public place keep an eye out for these AED’s. By knowing where they are located you can save seconds, which can and will save a life. They are usually located on the wall by most entrances and throughout most buildings. All workers of the institution are also required to know where theses AED’s are located. So, if you cannot seem to locate the AED makes sure to find out from the employees of the institution or public place you are visiting.
I hope this helped you understand not only why theses AED’s are so important but also how to use them and what they are. You cannot understand the importance of the AED without knowing the knowledge. During cardiac arrest the chance of living diminishes by ten percent every minute without the defibrillation of an AED. An AED is what will make the difference between life or death.
