Amish in Pa. community learn to use defibrillators

DIANA MARTIN
The Associated Press

LANCASTER, Pa. – The simple, plodding horse and buggy clomping down your street might be concealing some surprisingly advanced technology.

Amish in Paradise Township, who generally shun technology, are learning how to save lives with automated external defibrillators, or AEDs.

More than 50 members of the rural community, about half of them Amish, recently participated in training to deliver a lifesaving shock in the case of sudden cardiac arrest.

Volunteers were outfitted with 20 AEDs , dispersed across schools, barns, churches and, yes, even buggies , to cut down response time on the nation’s leading cause of death.

“We took a group of people who are not exposed to computers, video games or automobiles, and within minutes they were able to follow the voice prompts of the AED,” said James Weber of the Manheim Township Ambulance Association, who leads the training.

“One of the biggest tenets of the Amish is community service,” he said. “They reject technology, but they recognize sudden cardiac arrest is such a public health crisis they are stepping forward to serve as first responders.”

First-responder training is particularly vital in rural Paradise, where the average emergency response time is 11 minutes, compared to a national average of nine, Weber said.

Plain sects account for nearly half of Paradise Township’s residents. Weber has been working on a plan to get them involved with emergency response for eight months.

“They finally got to the point where they understood the practical value and they’re now on board and responding to AED calls.”

At the most recent training session, held July 29, Amish children as young as 7 learned CPR and AED response. More than 30,000 Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest.
Information from: Intelligencer Journal, http://lancasteronline.com

Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/20100813_ap_amishinpacommunitylearntousedefibrillators.html

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CPR Statistics from the American Heart Association

CPR & Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Sudden Cardiac Arrest

• EMS treats nearly 300,000 victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year in the U.S.

• Less than eight percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive.

• Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time. Many victims appear healthy with no known heart disease or other risk factors.

• Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked. A heart attack may cause cardiac arrest.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

• Less than one-third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR.

• Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.

• The American Heart Association trains more than 12 million people in CPR annually, including healthcare professionals and the general public.

• The most effective rate for chest compressions is 100 compressions per minute – the same rhythm as the beat of the BeeGee’s song, “Stayin’ Alive.”

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)

• Unless CPR and defibrillation are provided within minutes of collapse, few attempts at resuscitation are successful.

• Even if CPR is performed, defibrillation with an AED is required to stop the abnormal rhythm and restore a normal heart rhythm.

• New technology has made AEDs simple and user-friendly. Clear audio and visual cues tell users what to do when using an AED and coach people through CPR. A shock is delivered only if the victim needs it.

• AEDs are now widely available in public places such as schools, airports and workplaces.

Teens/Youth

• About 5,800 children 18 years old and under suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year from all causes – including trauma, cardiovascular causes and sudden infant death syndrome.

• The incidence of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in high school athletes ranges from .28 to 1 death per 100,000 high school athletes annually in the U.S.

• The American Heart Association does not have a minimum age requirement for people to learn CPR. The ability to perform CPR is based more on body strength rather than age.

• Studies have shown that children as young as 9 years old can learn and retain CPR skills.

SOURCE: heart.org
Fact Sheet
As of April 26, 2010

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New Studies Reveal That More People Would Attempt CPR If Given Better Instructions, No Mouth-to-Mouth

(AP) More bystanders are willing to attempt CPR if an emergency dispatcher gives them firm and direct instructions – especially if they can just press on the chest and skip the mouth-to-mouth, according to new research.

The two new studies conclude that “hands-only” chest compression is enough to save a life. They are the largest and most rigorous yet to suggest that breathing into a victim’s mouth isn’t needed in most cases.

The American Heart Association has been promoting hands-only CPR for two years, though it’s not clear how much it’s caught on. The new studies should encourage dispatchers and bystanders to be more aggressive about using the simpler technique.

“That could translate into hundreds if not thousands of additional lives saved each year. What are we waiting for?” said Dr. Arthur Kellermann, a RAND Corporation expert on emergency medicine.

An estimated 310,000 Americans die each year of cardiac arrest outside hospitals or in emergency rooms. Only about 6 percent of those who are stricken outside a hospital survive.

When someone collapses and stops breathing, many people panic and believe that phoning 911 is the best they can do to help.

The larger of the two new studies reported survival rates of about 12 percent when bystanders did dispatcher-directed CPR, confirming earlier research that on-scene CPR can dramatically increase a victim’s odds of survival.

Previous research has suggested that adults who need CPR get it only about one-quarter to one-third of the time when bystanders are around.

One of the new studies found that when dispatchers told callers to start CPR, about 80 percent attempted it when given hands-only instructions, more than the 70 percent who tried the standard version.

Sayre and others credited the increase on dispatchers who immediately told callers what to do, instead of first asking them if they’d had CPR training or if they’d be willing to try it until medical help arrives.

CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a technique that’s been in use for about 50 years. The standard version now calls for alternating 30 hard pushes on a victim’s chest with two quick breaths into their mouth.

The aim of CPR is to do some of the mechanical work of the heart by forcing at least some blood and oxygen to the brain and other vital organs.

Experts have come to believe that pumping is what’s most important in most adult cases, and advise doing chest pushes continually at a rate of 100 per minute and skipping the mouth-to-mouth. Some suggest using the beat of the old disco song “Stayin’ Alive” as a guide.

The studies are being published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

While there is no good national data on how often hands-only CPR is used, Dr. Ben Bobrow, who directs the Arizona Department of Health Services’ emergency medical system, believes it is catching on.

“We’ve seen a huge trend in hands-only CPR in Arizona and I believe that trend is spreading across the country. I think these findings will further promote that,” he said.

Worry about doing CPR correctly was the No. 2 reason many people don’t attempt it, according to a Michigan study published in 2006. The No. 1 reason? People are too panicked.

Traditional CPR is still the preferred form of resuscitation for children or adults who have stopped breathing because of choking, drowning or other respiratory problems.

SOURCE: cbsnews.com

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE FROM ABC NEWS

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Source: The American Heart Association

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