RECPlex fitted with defibrillator

About one in twenty-five people who collapse with a heart attack can be saved if they are treated immediately by someone who knows CPR and has been trained to use an automatic defibrillator. This realisation by civic and health officials has seen defibrillators being installed in public placed and in public transportation vehicles.

This morning Tisdale's RECPlex has its new defibrillator installed in the main lobby beside the arena door.

The document below was posted on the bulletin board beside the arena doorway:

About Automatic External Defibrillators

The LIFEPAK CR Plus Defibrillator is an automated external defibrillator (AED). For many years, AEDs have been used only by medical professionals to treat patients in cardiac arrest. The ability of defibrillators to save lives is so widely recognised that people once trained to do only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can now use them.

When electrode pads are applied to the patient's chest, the AED analyses the patient's heart rhythm. If a shockable rhythm is detected, the AED will either deliver an intense pulse of electricity (shock) to the heart muscle (fully automatic model) or direct the responder to deliver the shock (semiautomatic model). The shocks are delivered through the electrode pads on the chest.
Delivery of this pulse of electricity is called defibrillation. Defibrillation is a recognised means of treating life-threatening irregularities of the heart beat, such as ventricular fibrillation, that causes cardiac arrest.

The LIFEPAK CR Plus Defibrillator is designed specifically for infrequent use and or use by people whole only training is in CPR and in using AEDs.

Indications for Use

The LIFEPAK CR Plus defibrillator is indicated for use on patients in cardiac arrest. The patient must be unresponsive (unconscious), not breathing normally, and showing no signs of circulation (for example no pulse, no coughing, or no movement). With Infant/Child Reduced Energy Defibrillation Electrodes, the LIFEPAK CR Plus Defibrillator may be used on children up to 8 years old or 25 kg (55 lb).

Why the Need for Defibrillators

The American Heart Association estimates that, in the USA alone, a least 250,000 people die each year of cardiac arrest. Of these, about 10,000 people might have been saved had they received immediate treatment from a defibrillator.

Cardiac arrest is usually caused by a malfunctioning of the heart's electrical system. Called ventricular fibrillation, this critical condition prevents the heart from pumping blood throughout the body. Ventricular fibrillation can cause death within seconds.

Defibrillation is a relatively simple procedure that involves placing electrode pads on a patient's exposed chest and delivering an electrical shock to the heart. The externally-delivered shock often restores the heart's electrical system to normal rhythm. Combined with CPR, defibrillation provides the most effective care for patients in cardiac arrest.