Defibrillators on Ambulances Saving Lives
A program to equip Nova Scotia's new ambulance fleet with defibrillators is saving lives.
A preliminary report from Emergency Health Services (EHS), a division of the Department of Health, indicates that in 1997 almost 20 people were resuscitated through defibrillation by either ambulance staff or others first at the scene.
A defibrillator is a unit that is used to shock a patient with electricity to restore normal heart rhythm following a cardiac arrest. More than 100 ambulances -- of a fleet of 140 -- now have defibrillators on board.
"Sudden cardiac arrest is a major cause of death in Nova Scotia," said Dr. Ed Cain, EHS medical director. "Abnormal heart rhythms, such as ventricular fibrillation, cause most cardiac arrests, and early defibrillation is the one intervention that has been proven to improve survival rates."
The time between the onset of cardiac arrest and defibrillation is critical for resuscitation. The earlier you can defibrillate someone, the greater the chances of survival. The probability of survival declines rapidly from the onset of cardiac arrest, approaching zero if the patient in ventricular fibrillation is not defibrillated within 10 minutes.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an integral part of the resuscitation process. In the absence of a defibrillator, CPR can be used from the time of collapse until the defibrillator arrives. This may extend the amount of time a patient can still be successfully defibrillated. The probability of survival improves if the victim receives CPR while waiting to be defibrillated.
EHS encourages people to phone 911 when they have symptoms of a heart attack, or recognize symptoms of heart attacks in other people.
The symptoms can vary. A person might feel the characteristic heaviness or squeezing in the centre of the chest, but symptoms can also mimic heartburn and indigestion, or muscle pain in the upper body. People frequently ignore these symptoms, or choose to wait several hours before seeking help. The discomfort may be a sign of a heart attack and the patient should seek medical care or call 911.
Time is critical when a person suffers a heart attack. Waiting to seek medical care can increase damage to the heart, as well as increase the risk of sudden death. A 911 operator will connect the caller with the EHS Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre where a communications officer will dispatch an ambulance and, in the case of a cardiac arrest, give pre-arrival instructions -- including CPR instructions -- to the caller.