Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest - Jan 26, 2024

Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest is an assortment of current events and news related to emergency cardiac care and resuscitation. Produced by Code One Training Solutions, Emergency Cardiac Care News Digest is published every Friday throughout the year.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do.

Amelia Earhart

THe American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2030 Impact Goals and Call to Action to Improve Cardiac Arrest Outcomes

Despite significant advances in research, education, clinical practice, and community-based programs, survival from cardiac arrest remains low.
Significant disparities also exist in cardiac arrest outcomes.

Top Things to Know: https://professional.heart.org/en/science-news/the-aha-ecc-2030-impact-goals-and-call-to-action-to-improve-cardiac-arrest-outcomes/top-things-to-know

Link directly to the Scientific Statement in Circulation: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001196

Public access defibrillation is a failed strategy

Editorial- Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine Article

Bystander use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) is a time-sensitive critical intervention that can improve survival for patients who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Since the advent of AED technology several decades ago, significant resources have been expended on raising public awareness and making them publicly accessible under the assumption that doing so would result in earlier defibrillation and improved survival. In many communities, the strategy of “public access defibrillation” has been the singular approach to facilitate early defibrillation for individuals experiencing OHCA. The study published by Li et al. in this volume of CJEM is one more piece of evidence suggesting that ad hoc deployment of public access defibrillators without central coordination, oversight or accountability, is a failed strategy.

See the full article here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43678-023-00633-9

Response to article “Public access defibrillation is a failed strategy”

A review and discussion of Dr. Steven Brooks’ engaging editorial “Public access defibrillation is a failed strategy” published earlier this month in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine.

See the entire response here: https://code1web.com/learning-center/response-to-article-public-access-defibrillation-is-a-failed-strategy/

Town of Wayland Recreation Department, Wayland Fire Department Deploy Defibrillators Outdoors

WAYLAND — Recreation Director Katherine Brenna and Fire Chief Neil McPherson are pleased to share that the Wayland Recreation and Fire Departments recently received a donation from The Clifford Group, which was used to purchase a new defibrillator.

For the last two years, the Wayland Recreation Department, in partnership with the Wayland Fire Department, has been working to install weather-proof defibrillator cabinets to house automated external defibrillator (AED)’s at outdoor recreation sites.

Source: https://jgpr.net/2024/01/18/town-of-wayland-recreation-department-wayland-fire-department-receive-donation-to-purchase-aed/

Sisters@Heart Presents 5 Publicly Accessible AEDs to Town of North Attleborough

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, MA— Town Manager Michael Borg is pleased to announce that Sisters@Heart presented its first donation of a publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AED) device to the Town of North Attleborough during a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this week.

On Monday, Jan. 15, Sisters@Heart hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at Town Hall alongside Town Manager Borg, Chief Christopher Coleman, Senator Paul Feeney and Representative Adam Scanlon. The ceremony recognized the first installed public AED device at Community Field gifted to the Town by Sisters@Heart.

Read the full story: https://www.nattleboro.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=311#:~:text=On%20Monday%2C%20Jan.,the%20Town%20by%20Sisters%40Heart

Urgent ECMO after cardiogenic shock admission could lower mortality

Key takeaways:

• Delayed ECMO initiation was tied to increased in-hospital mortality among patients with cardiogenic shock.
• ECMO within 24 hours may reduce mortality, even among those admitted with less acute illness.

Read more: https://www.healio.com/news/cardiology/20240123/urgent-ecmo-after-cardiogenic-shock-admission-could-lower-mortality

Health crisis has heart-warming ending

The Samford Area Men’s Shed is about far more than camaraderie – the support it provides is literally live-saving.

Peter Schinkel would have died in December if it was not for the help of quick-thinking fellow “shedders”.

Instead, he was today reunited with the Queensland Ambulance Service members at the Mitchelton Ambulance Station – including paramedic in training Casey Darling – who saved the 79-year-old’s life.

It was also an opportunity for Peter to officially present the Samford Area Men’s Shed with a portable Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to add to the existing device installed at the shed as a mark of his gratitude.

He was helping fellow members clean up the day after the Shed’s Christmas party at the Samford Showgrounds when he took several steps backward and made a grunting sound.
Luckily for him, retired paramedic Allen Marr and former fire and emergency services member Greg Prior were by his side to catch him as he fell.

Allen and Greg say that had there not been an AED at the showgrounds, the outcome for Peter would have been grim.

Source: https://www.moretondaily.com.au/news/health-crisis-has-heart-warming-ending

Bystander CPR and AED Use By Law Enforcement-Yancy County

In the early morning hours of January 1st, 2024, Jeffrey Hunter suffered a cardiac arrest at home. His son Oliver quickly realized that his father was in cardiac arrest and started bystander CPR. Sheriff Deputy Howell was at Yancey 911 Communications Center and overhead CPR instructions being provided by dispatchers Williams and Schofield.
Howell immediately responded to the Hunter Residence and deployed two shocks with an AED (automated external defibrillator) prior to EMS arrival. On October 6th, Deputy Howell was one of 4 patrol cars who received an AED. Officer Holmes, with the Burnsville Police Department, Ray and Ptak with Burnsville Fire Department also responded and assisted with chest compressions and ongoing resuscitation efforts along with Yancey County EMS-Heritage.

After 24 minutes and 2 seconds from the time that 911 dispatchers took the call, Mr. Hunter’s heart began to beat on its own again.

Read the entire story: https://www.ourlocalcommunityonline.com/2024/01/23/bystander-cpr-and-aed-deployment-by-yancey-county-sheriffs-office-saves-lives/

Malvern charity to celebrate 5,000th defibrillator trainee

A charity that delivers life-saving skills will be celebrating its 5,000th defibrillator and CPR trainee.

To mark the occasion, Heartstart Malvern will be heading to Dyson Perrins School to also train 150 pupils.

Launched in 2017, the group aimed to increase cardiac arrest survival rates in the Worcestershire town and surrounding areas.

The milestone is being marked on Wednesday.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-68074864

HEARTLAND-Life-saving eco-units — a first for Knockma and Co Galway

KNOCKMA on the outskirts of Belclare has become the first location in the county to have new eco units that aim to help save a life should any of the many thousands who walk the popular route have a cardiac arrest.

Two eco powered cabinets that run on solar panels and contain easy-to-use defibrillators have been installed at the foot and the top of the well-known hill, which is used by more than 70,000 people every year.

The units have been sourced by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which is also installing one at the Diamond Hill walk in Connemara.
A unique design allows the defibrillator to be operational, even in subzero temperatures, as the unit is kept frost free thanks to a battery powered by solar.

Source: https://www.tuamherald.ie/2024/01/24/heartland/

Most US Adults Fail to Recognize Heart Disease as Leading Killer of Americans, Study Finds

Despite being the leading cause of death in the US for more than a century, more than half of the respondents to a 2023 survey conducted on behalf of the American Heart Association (AHA) failed to identify heart disease as the leading killer of US adults, according to the AHA’s 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics report.

Read on: https://www.hcplive.com/view/most-us-adults-fail-to-recognize-heart-disease-as-leading-killer-of-americans-study-finds

Heroism, intimacy, and beliefs about life and death surface in historic research about drowning

While examining historical evidence on drowning deaths and rescues from the 17th to 20th centuries, Lochlann Jain was drawn into questions of not just science and medicine but also heroism, representation, and physical intimacy with strangers. “My project on drowning is turning out to be about a lot of different things,” the professor of anthropology told a recent gathering of the Faculty Research Fellows.

Article: https://gender.stanford.edu/news/heroism-intimacy-and-beliefs-about-life-and-death-surface-historic-research-about-drowning

Did you catch something in the news related to resuscitation recently that you would like to see in this digest? Want to spotlight an event or activity aimed at improving cardiac arrest outcomes?

Feel free to email david@code1web.com