With more and more tools available for cardiac arrest victims, health organizations are pushing companies to make more of an effort to train their employees to save lives.
It is estimated that more than 95 percent of victims of cardiac arrest, or the sudden loss of heart function, die before reaching the hospital, and many attacks occur in the workplace, according to the American Heart Association.
This grim statistic and the recent death of NBC News executive Tim Russert have left many wondering if the level of business preparedness, including knowledge of CPR, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and the fairly new device called the ResQPOD, could have saved Russert and the hundreds of other cardiac arrest victims each day.
"Getting certified in CPR is strongly recommended for everyone, no matter who you are," reports the Emergency Preparedness Tips Web site. "Being certified to perform CPR can actually save a life."
No Workplace Policy
On Nov. 13, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, designed to expand the availability of AEDs in buildings owned or leased by the federal government.
However, there is no such policy for the common workplace.
Although it is highly recommended by the American Heart Association to place AEDs in all public areas and train employees in CPR, it is ultimately the employer's choice in private workplaces.
CPR is an emergency medical procedure that is a combination of chest compressions and lung ventilation used to keep a flow of oxygenated blood to the heart and brain.
Although it is unlikely that CPR will restart the heart, it will delay tissue death and permanent brain damage, which occurs within four to six minutes after a cardiac arrest.
The combination of CPR and an AED, a computerized medical device that administers a shock to restore a natural heart rhythm, within five to seven minutes of the cardiac arrest will increase the survival rate to 30 to 45 percent, according to the American Heart Association.
Another Survival Device
Unbeknown to many, the ResQPOD, an Impedance Threshold Device, is a tool that further increases the chance of survival by noninvasively doubling the blood flow to the heart and brain during CPR.
It is a mouthpiece used on the victim during the mouth-to-mouth portion of CPR and serves as a one-way valve that regulates when air enters the lungs. It has a timer that blinks when the patient should receive a breath, said Dr. Keith Lurie, who specializes in cardiology and internal medicine in Minneapolis and St. Cloud, Minn.
"ResQPOD is definitely an advance, and we are excited about it," said Lurie, a member of the Take Heart America program.
The device was first produced in Eden Prairie, Minn., in 1996, but began to be manufactured in its current form in 2003 after receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Jim Flom, sales manager for Advance Circulatory, told the St. Cloud Times.
The ResQPOD is now the most recommended device in cardiac arrest survival by the American Heart Association and has almost doubled the survival rates in cardiac arrest victims when used.
However, not every city is choosing to use this device, including Washington, D.C.
The outcome could have been different in the case of Tim Russert if the building where he had the attack was prepared with trained people and they had a ResQPOD, said Lurie.
"Unfortunately, people are slow to change," he said.
Anyone interested in having a ResQPOD can ask any health professional to prescribe one.
Although Lurie emphasizes the significance of the ResQPOD, the importance of basic CPR and AEDs are not overlooked.
"You can't just use one type of medicine on a cancer patient. You need 10. The same goes for a cardiac arrest victim," he said. "You need good CPR, you need the ResQPOD put on right away, and you need people willing to do CPR for 30 minutes until a medical professional can arrive."
'It Is Absolutely Essential To Make Progress'
Organizations are joining together to spread the word about cardiac arrest and the importance of being trained in CPR and AED use.
The American Red Cross has gotten involved by starting the first annual CPR and AED Awareness Week this past June.
They encouraged "states, cities and towns to establish organized programs that provide CPR and AED trainings and increase public access to AEDs."
There have also been trials to demonstrate the importance of these devices, including the Public Access Defibrillation Trial conducted between July 2000 and January 2002.
Nearly 1,000 public facilities, including apartment or office buildings, sports facilities, senior centers, and shopping malls, were selected and 20,000 volunteers were trained to either provide CPR alone or CPR and an AED. These volunteers and businesses were also equipped with around 1,500 installed AEDs throughout the buildings, according to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
In the 292 attempted resuscitations, there were 44 cardiac arrest survivors as a result of simple training and access to the correct tools.
But Lurie emphasized that simply learning CPR is the first step to saving lives.
"Since the vast majority of people are treated by a bystander, it is absolutely essential if we want to make progress in this No. 1 killer that everyone should learn to do basic CPR," said Lurie. "You can learn it in 20 minutes, and you can learn it in confidence so if a loved one falls down, you know what to do and you can act appropriately."
Additional Resources: Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
