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.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Albert Einstein
This quote encourages us to develop a growth mindset and a focus on continual learning and exploration. By reflecting on our past experiences, we can gain valuable insights and wisdom that can inform our present actions.
‘It’s everything’: Locals hope to make Holland a HeartSafe Community
HOLLAND, MI — Lisa Cardillo and John Shea know firsthand the importance of quick action in the event of cardiac arrest. Both are survivors who received CPR shortly after an event’s onset, greatly increasing their chances of survival.
Now, Shea and Cardillo are part of a group looking to make sure others have a greater chance of surviving cardiac arrest by making Holland a HeartSafe Community.
There are 13 criteria that need to be met for Holland to become HeartSafe. Several of those have already been met, but a significant remaining hurdle is getting 15% of the city’s residents trained in hands-only CPR.
AEDs could be useful tools in Winnipeg Police Service patrol vehicles
The Heart and Stroke Foundation says AEDs in police cars in Winnipeg may be beneficial for cardiac arrest, this as an inquest examining the deaths of five men following police interactions heard the devices may have been an aid in two of the deaths.
You find AEDs (automated external defibrillator) almost everywhere — in gyms, community centres, libraries, and airports — but one place you won’t find this life-saving piece of equipment is inside the Winnipeg Police Service’s patrol cars and some experts say it’d be an important tool for officers to have.
“35,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospitals in Canada each year and having the tools to save a life at someone’s disposal is really going to increase the odds of survival,” explained Andrew Lotto, with the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
“In a cardiac arrest, in an emergency like this, time is everything, time is life. So it’s really important to reduce the amount of time between the first signs of an emergency and the first intervention in the emergency.”
More here: https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2023/11/23/winnipeg-police-aed/
Boy, 16, who saved a neighbour’s life with CPR is honoured by Princess Royal
A 16-year-old boy who saved his neighbour’s life with CPR after going into “autopilot mode” has been recognised by the Princess Royal.
Joshua Youngs, a cadet at St John Ambulance from Ipswich, Suffolk, and his mother Kirsty Youngs, 40, last November heard screaming from outside their home and ran outside to investigate the commotion.
Ms Youngs, a former midwife and now an emergency worker, brought along her response kit and the two arrived at their neighbour’s house to find her slumped over the sofa chair, her skin blue and breathing laboured.
A year after helping to save her life, he was honoured along with other young lifesavers at the St John Ambulance annual Young Achievers awards, which was attended by Anne.
Read on: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/boy-16-saved-neighbour-life-070011653.html
Alliance Lions donate AED to city Parks Department
Alliance Lions Club has donated a life-saving tool to Alliance Parks and Recreation Department.
Jennifer Baxter, office manager for Alliance Parks, said the new automated external defibrillator will be installed at the district’s Robertson Family Lodge in Silver Park.
‘Pretty much had the dream team’: Man suffers cardiac arrest, saved by fellow cyclists performing CPR
An Omaha bicyclist said a group of people he calls the “dream team” saved his life when he dropped to the ground on a bike ride.
The group of people immediately recognized what was happening and started CPR, doing it for more than 10 minutes.
” I looked at Dr. Phil and said, there’s no pulse. I’m starting CPR,” said Lisa Nelson, another one of Greg’s friends.
“There was no pulse. Lisa started compressions. I did breaths, and we did that for quite a while,” Martens said.
Nelson needed a break. Without thinking, Mendlik stepped in.
The group rotated, doing chest compressions and rescue breaths.
Drone delivers defibrillators for cardiac arrest faster than ambulance
People who have gone into cardiac arrest can get treatment faster if a drone delivers a defibrillator, but there needs to be someone nearby trained in CPR, shows a trial in Sweden
Drones delivering defibrillators consistently outperform ambulances in the race to get life-saving treatment to people whose hearts have stopped beating, according to a landmark new trial in Sweden.
Time is critical when it comes to reviving patients who have gone into cardiac arrest. Using a defibrillator to apply an electrical shock to a heart within 3 to 5 minutes of it stopping can lead to survival rates of up to 70 per cent.
Yet fewer than 2 percent of patients receive such treatment before emergency services arrive, with each minute of delay after the patient’s heart has stopped reducing the probability of survival by 10 per cent.
Thatcher Police revive pickleball player under cardiac arrest with AED machine
The quick action of a Thatcher officer brought a man back from cardiac arrest at the Thatcher pickleball courts near Reay Lane and Eighth Street on Wednesday morning.
According to a media release, officers were dispatched to the courts at about 7:42 a.m. regarding a 56-year-old man who was unresponsive and was not breathing.
While those at the scene began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Thatcher officer Jason Larson arrived with his Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine and delivered a shock to the victim, who was still on the pickleball court.
The AED machine jolt caused the male to regain consciousness, and paramedics from Lifeline Ambulance took over and transported the man to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center for additional treatment.
Team effort, AED saves Clear Lake resident Grams
Tom Grams says he has a “whole new outlook on life” after a series of fortunate events, as well as an entire team of caring humans, helped save his life by utilizing a recently installed AED after he suffered a medical emergency on October 2 at his home in the Sherwood Shores development in Clear Lake Township.
Earlier in the day, Tom had gone to help a friend with some projects and had even commented to his wife, Mina, that he had never felt so good.
After finishing dinner on October 2, Tom went out to clean up the grill and when he didn’t return, Mina found him sitting in a chair in a darkened garage.
“I knew he was in trouble,” recalled Mina. After a brief attempt to get Tom into a vehicle to transport to the hospital, Mina placed calls for help.
First on the scene were the couple’s neighbors, Jerry and Carleen, the latter who just happens to be a nurse.
Read the entire story: https://patriotnewsmn.com/news/team-effort-aed-saves-clear-lake-resident-grams
Cool mother saves toddler’s life
A toddler has fully recovered from a near-drowning, thanks to his cool-headed mother’s knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The 18-month-old Sekani Nzima was playing outside with his nieces and nephews and a few other friends at his parents’ house in Silver Lakes in Pretoria. According to his mother, Thandokazi, they played far from the pool, but she suspects he followed one of the children into the house when he came to ask for a patch.
“Suddenly I heard one of the neighbours’ children shouting, ‘Sekani has fallen into the pool’. It was such a big shock that my sense of time was completely distorted. I just kept praying as I ran to the place where the neighbors’ nine-year-old child pulled Sekani out of the water. It was only through prayer that I managed to calm down and start CPR,” she says.
Source: https://www.rnews.co.za/cool-mother-saves-toddlers-life/
‘It’s absolutely a miracle’ | Littleton man recovers after multiple cardiac arrests and 100+ AED shocks
The Martinez family is feeling grateful to share Thanksgiving together after a series of cardiac arrest events nearly claimed the life of Chad Martinez.
DENVER — A Littleton man is recovering after multiple cardiac arrest events doctors didn’t expect him to survive and his family is holding onto him tight and thankful they’ll have another Thanksgiving together.
“It’s very extraordinary and we are very, very lucky,” said Deirdre Martinez.
After surviving against such slim odds over and over, the Martinez family is feeling grateful for the doctors who saved his life over and over again and for the ability to spend Thanksgiving together at home.
“Really excited, I’m going home today. So I feel extraordinarily grateful. I know it’s the season of Thanksgiving and all of those things, but it certainly has a new meaning for us,” Chad said.
Source and video: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/littleton-man-recovering-multiple-cardiac-arrests-100-aed-shocks/73-d393f4ea-e405-4771-ac18-e1a46ba5bc85
KCH puts Lexington schools to the test for Project ADAM Heart Safe designation
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 22, 2023) — On his way to class, an unsuspecting student at Tates Creek High School stumbles onto a shocking scene. In an empty hallway, a figure lies motionless on the floor. The student quickly knocks on the door of the nearest classroom and informs the teacher there’s an unresponsive person who needs help.
What happens next is a flurry of activity — thoroughly planned, well-rehearsed and carefully executed. The teacher makes a call to the front office, who in turn makes an announcement over the schoolwide intercom. Within seconds, more teachers and staff appear at the scene. Emergency services are called while CPR is administered to the figure on the floor, followed by shocks from an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Story and video: https://uknow.uky.edu/uk-healthcare/kch-puts-lexington-schools-test-project-adam-heart-safe-designation
Youth sudden cardiac arrest survivors, parents who’ve lost kids: Health reporter seeks stories
WFYI is working on a series of stories that will investigate which Indiana school districts and first responders are equipped to save cardiac arrest victims, and whether these resources vary based on the rural/ urban divide, economic and racial makeup of these communities.
Which schools are more likely to have AEDs – one of the main ways to prevent a cardiac arrest death? If heart screenings can detect heart defects, which can potentially lead to sudden cardiac arrest, why aren’t heart screenings mandatory for student physicals?
WFYI health reporter Elizabeth Gabriel started looking into this topic after the death of a 15-year-old her friend volunteered with. She’s since written a feature story on the difficulties of mandating AEDs in schools. Now Gabriel wants to spread more awareness about sudden cardiac arrest, in youth and adults, and how to respond to it.