Use An Automated External Defibrillator
It has been estimated that sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of about 200,000 Americans each year. Some 50,000 of these deaths could be prevented with the use of an automated external defibrillator. This is an easy-to-use device available in many public places. Read on to learn use an automated external defibrillator.
Instructions
1. Know that automated external defibrillators are now part of the first-aid equipment in many public places such as shopping malls, restaurants, airports and churches. Because it is simple to use and even has a computerized voice that talks you through the steps to use in a cardiac emergency, most anyone can use one. Most cardiac arrests are caused by ventricular fibrillation, where the electrical impulses in the heart suddenly become erratic and cause the heat to stop pumping blood in the way it should. A person suffering from this condition usually loses consciousness without warning. Normal heart rhythm must be restored quickly or death can occur within minutes.
2. Look for the green "On" button when you start to use an automated external defibrillator. Simply press the button and the computerized machine starts to instruct you in what to do next.
3. Grab the two large pads that you see when you open the case of the automated external defibrillator. Look at the picture of the human body. You'll see two circles that show you exactly where to place the two pads onto the patient's body. An EKG tracing will start automatically to monitor the electricity in the heart of the patient.
4. Listen to the automated computer voice. The voice will give you exact, step-by-step directions of what to do next. If there is no activity in the EKG, the voice will instruct you to push a button for defibrillation. The voice instructs you to clear away from the patient as a shock is delivered. Then, the machine will reanalyze the heart rhythm to see if it has returned to normal. If not, the voice will instruct you again in the process of sending another electrical shock to the heart muscle.
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