Life Line Screening | Washington Post | Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular Health
february 2010

Your guide to protecting Your heart

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 Life Line Screening | Washington Post | Cardiovascular Health
CardiovasCular HEalTH

Public Access Defibrillation:

aEds save lives That CPr alone Cannot
To save a victim of sudden cardiac arrest, or SCA, a rescuer has only about five cardiac arrest later die from hypoxic-
minutes. Any longer and the odds of survival start to slip away. ischemic brain injury. However, victims
of ventricular fibrillation or ventricu-
lar tachycardia arrest who have been
Stepping in to bridge this gap is Life
Line Screening that “uses advanced,
safe ultrasound technology to test for,
among other things, the three leading

R
escuers with automated ex- for an SCA victim before an AED ar- able,” according to Chris Chaimes, ex- cooled are more likely to survive and causes of stroke—carotid artery ste-
ternal defibrillators, or AEDs, rives. But only an AED can correct the ecutive director of the Sudden Cardiac have improved functional outcomes, nosis, atrial fibrillation and high blood
save 20,000 SCA victims in the heart’s rhythm and save an SCA vic- Arrest Association. since cooling the patient quickly after pressure,” according to Joelle M. Reizes,
United States per year, according to tim’s life, Laub said. While most of us are aware of the the arrest for 12 to 24 hours and then Life Line Screening’s communication
the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association. AEDs are easy to use, and they’re need for more public involvement re-warming them at a controlled rate director.
But the 20,000 survivors represent getting easier. For example, Defibtech’s and access to AEDs, there is now an ad- allows oxygen-deprived cells to re- “The screenings are painless, afford-
only about five percent of all SCA vic- new View AED shows a video that vanced technology making the rounds cover safely from the shock of cardiac able, safe (no radiation is used) and
tims, said cardiac surgeon Dr. Glenn demonstrates exactly how to save an of medical facilities across the country: arrest.” available in convenient community
W. Laub, CEO of Defibtech, an AED SCA victim in real-time. “Ease of use therapeutic hypothermia protocols, Potential Life-Saving Screenings locations. All tests are performed and
designer and manufacturer. “Unfortu- means faster speed to shock,” Laub which are especially effective for vic- Unfortunately, too many of us tend analyzed by top technicians and doc-
nately, the other 95 percent—nearly said. “Anyone—not only first respond- tims of ventricular fibrillation and ven- to ignore our health until something tors, using the most advanced technol-
400,000 people—died,” Laub stated. ers—can have the confidence to save tricular tachycardia, the most common doesn’t feel right. Only then do we see ogy,” reports Reizes.
“SCA is the nation’s leading cause of a life.” forms of sudden cardiac arrest. our physician or healthcare provider.
death. We have a long way to go be- Hypothermic Cooling: According to Dr. Thomas Stewart, By then, some conditions may be well
fore we end this epidemic.” Improving Sudden Cardiac Arrest president of Gaymar Industries (who on their way to delivering a devastat-
Laub explained that SCA is different Survival Rates has been promoting the benefits of ing blow.
than a heart attack, which is triggered With the chances of surviving sud- therapeutic cooling for the better part Because some screenings can be

4 YOU
by a blocked artery. SCA is a rhythm den cardiac arrest so slim, “it strikes of a decade), “We have seen firsthand very expensive, or getting to a center
disorder that causes the heart to stop down more than 300,000 adults every how proper education and training can be inconvenient, we miss the op-
pumping blood efficiently. An AED de- year—one victim every two minutes— can save lives.” He reports that “more portunity to intervene in some of the
livers electrical shocks that return the we know that that the vast majority of than 85 percent of patients success- illnesses known as “silent killers,” such
LifeCoach_4x6.qxd:Layout 1 1/7/10 5:55 PM Page 1
heartbeat to normal. CPR is essential deaths from this affliction are prevent- fully resuscitated in the field after as strokes and cardiovascular disease.

factsneed to
know
about stroke
prevention
• Stroke is a leading cause of death and permanent disability
• 4 out of 5 stroke victims have no apparent warning signs
Life Coach. • 80% of strokes can be prevented*
• Painless ultrasound screenings can help you avoid a stroke
The Lifeline VIEW from Defibtech is the first and only
AED that has a built-in video coach that shows you, Community-based health screenings available for as little as $45.
teaches you, and guides you to save a life. To find a screening near you, call (888) 763-4154
or go to LifeLineScreening.com

866-DEFIB-4-U (866-333-4248) | www.defibtech.com *Source: National Stroke Association