The care of patients in cardiac arrest continues to be a challenge for medicine. Medical and technological advances have brought about significant changes and opportunities to modify current practices. One area of practice that warrants re-examination involves promoting the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public settings during emergencies. What are the features of AEDs compared to AED hospital products? Mindray, a professional AED developer, is here to explain.
Cardiac Arrest and Defibrillator
Cardiac arrest is usually caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF), and the most effective treatment is electrical defibrillation. The American Heart Association (AHA) has identified early defibrillation of VF as a high-priority goal. Every minute that an arrested victim remains in VF, the chances of survival decline. Early defibrillation through the use of a medical defibrillator is an important part of the AHA’s proposed disposition of sudden cardiac arrest because it offers the greatest hope for achieving this goal.
Traditionally, in many hospitals, it is often the inspecting nurse who finds the cardiac arrest and determines if the patient is unconscious, pulseless, and apneic. The nurse then calls the emergency response team and begins CPR. Another staff member pushes the manual defibrillator to the bedside, a bulky and more time-consuming process. Other nurses can assemble the equipment and prepare it for the arrival of the response team, who then performs the manual defibrillation. This type of disposal process includes an inherent delay in the first defibrillation. In terms of resuscitation efficiency, this is not great.
An AED could allow for the most critical interventions to be performed by even untrained laypeople before a crowd gathers, without the need for guidance from a professional medical response team. This immediate accessibility would allow for a faster response to a VF episode. The increase in efficiency that this brings to the life-saving process is substantial.
Conclusion
Along with the above points, AED deployment in public settings is a more logical choice. While Mindray produces high-quality AEDs, its products combine the latest technology with high manufacturing processes. Visit their website for more information about their products.
