Device proves it’s a life saver
March 1st 2005 A HeartStart defibrillator from Laerdal, combined with quick thinking staff at Crowtree Leisure Centre in Sunderland, saved the life of a 67 year old man.
Having undergone a quadruple heart bypass seven years ago, Ted Reilly regularly attends the Sunderland Cardiac Support Group’s ‘Exercise for Life’ sessions at Crowtree leisure centre. It was during one such session that he collapsed with a sudden cardiac arrest.
Marie Hutchinson, AED-trained coronary heart disease nurse, who was attending the session, recognised the symptoms and, knowing that the leisure centre had a HeadStart defibrillator, quickly summoned the help of two of the centre’s lifeguards.
Colleague Gordon Carty started emergency ventilation (mouth to mouth), Marie administered chest compression and Alan Towers called 999 and fetched the HeadStart defibrillator.
Alan attached the pads to Ted’s chest and followed the audible and visual instructions on the defibrillator. Once the machine had assessed the rhythm of Ted’s heart, it advised a shock. Alan pressed the ‘shock’ button on the machine to send a controlled and safe shock through the pads to the patient’s heart which immediately regained a stable beat. All this took just 2 to 3min.
Laerdal says that if defibrillated within 2 to 3min of collapse, the chances of the victim surviving are increased by up to 50%. However, the rate of success decreases by an alarming 10% per minute, so it is vital that action is taken as soon as possible. More articles from Laerdal Medical Ltd: | 
