Defibrillators Even a Kid Could Use
By George Anderson
All the hours of watching “ER” have paid off. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that having defibrillators in public places saves lives because no special training is needed to operate the devices.
Using defibrillators is so simple, says an Associated Press report, that, “Many heart specialists and others want to install these simplified, automated devices in airports, shopping malls, casinos, stadiums, schools and even homes to save victims of sudden cardiac arrest.”
It is estimated that about 95 percent or 203,000, of the people that suffer sudden cardiac arrest every year die before making it to the hospital.
Moderator’s Comment: Should retail stores have a defibrillator
on site?
The AP report we found in the Detroit News included
this observation from Dr. W. Douglas Weaver of the Henry Ford Heart Institute
in Detroit. “I think there’s enough evidence that these devices should be in
every public place, and ultimately they ought to be in every home.”
Expect soon to see prices of defibrillators drop like
DVD players (we’re only partly kidding). [George
Anderson – Moderator]