The Club Defibrillator can be found on the wall opposite to the ladies toilet in the Clubhouse.
1.
ARE
DEFIBRILLATORS SAFE?
A defibrillator is a fault-finding device and will
not shock a patient unless their heart requires a shock, the way a
defibrillator has been designed makes it fool proof, it analyses the heart of
the patient to identify if the heart is fibrillating in an abnormal rhythm and
will only shock if the heart is fibrillating.
If
the defibrillator can’t find a fibrillating heart rhythm, then it will not
shock the patient. Making defibrillators 100% safe for
anyone to use.
2.
WHEN DO YOU USE A DEFIBRILLATOR?
We are asked on a regular basis, when is the right
time to use a defibrillator on a patient?
If a person goes into cardiac arrest, then the
heart stops functioning effectively, this causes the patient to lose blood
pressure and have no blood circulation – Brain and heart damage occurs in a
matter of minutes.
DO NOT PUT A DEFIBRILLATOR ON FIRST
The patient needs CPR, this will circulate blood
through the body and help to prevent tissue death in the heart and brain- “Time
is Heart and Brain”- Scott Whimpey – Director FAAE.
Once CPR has been started, now is the time to apply
the Defibrillator, making sure that CPR continues while the pads are applied to
the patient. Much like a pool pump losing function, we need to prime the pump
first before we start it up.
Studies show that the more we stop CPR in the first
10 minutes, the more brain and heart damage occurs, we need to minimise
interruptions to compressions in the initial stages of a resuscitation.
3. THE
CHAIN OF SURVIVAL
The
Chain of Survival is recognised by the Australian Resuscitation Council as the
most important steps in a resuscitation to increase the chance of survival from
a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). These steps are simple and should be implemented
for a patient that is not responsive and not breathing.
1- Call
for help- Call 000 as soon as possible
2- Start
CPR- this will help to push blood to the brain and prevent brain damage
3- Apply
the Defibrillator and follow the prompts
4.
HOW DO YOU USE A
DEFIBRILLATOR?
Defibrillators are very easy to use.
Once you switch the Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
on, it will tell you exactly what to do via verbal and visual prompts.
This will usually begin with the defibrillator prompting you
to call for help and expose the patients chest, it will then instruct you to
apply the adhesive pads to the chest of the patient. You’ll then be prompted to
‘not touch the patient’ as the AED is analysing the heart rhythm of the patient
and may deliver a shock.
Once this has happened the AED will instruct you to perform
CPR. Our defibrillators will guide you through this stage of the resuscitation
to help ensure you are performing the CPR correctly and at the right pace.
5.
HOW DO DEFIBRILLATORS WORK?
A Defibrillator fault finds the heart of the patient to
identify if the heart is fibrillating in an abnormal rhythm.
If the defibrillator finds the heart fibrillating in either
Ventricular Fibrillation (VT) or Ventricular Fibrillation (VF), it will trigger
a program in the Defibrillator and prompt a shock to be delivered through the patient’s
heart. This shock is delivered in a special way that’s called Bi-Phasic, this
means 2 smaller shocks that are milliseconds apart, the first shock is designed
to de-sensitise the heart and stop the fibrillation and the second shock is
designed to re-trigger the heart in a normal beating – pumping rhythm.
The energy of the shock that comes form the defibrillator
also varies, this is called escalating energy, the first shock from a
defibrillator is small for smaller patients, the second shock is larger and the
third is usually maximum output of the device – somewhere between 200j to 360j
of energy.
6.
CAN YOU USE A DEFIBRILLATOR ON A
CHILD?
This will depend on the defibrillator, but generally, the
answer is yes. If the defibrillator does not have child or pediatric pads, you
can simply place one of the pads on the front and one on the back of the child,
this will reduce the shock into the heart of the child and is suitable for a
patient under 25kg. Always ensure you follow the instructions provided by the
AED and follow the correct pad placement for adults and placement for children.
7.
DOES A DEFIBRILLATOR RESTART A STOPPED
HEART?
No, one of the biggest myths associated with defibrillators
is that they restart the heart once it has completed stopped—this is not
correct. Defibrillators work to identify any irregular fibrillating heart
rhythms (like those that occur during a Sudden Cardiac Arrest) and then shock
the heart so that it can return to its natural rhythm. Defibrillator don’t look
for a ‘flat lined heart ‘ and cant shock it back to life, drugs are used in
this case.
8.
WHAT IS SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST?
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the abrupt stop of heart function. When a patient experiences SCA they will also lose consciousness and stop breathing. SCA is usually the result of an electrical disturbance in the heart, which is not the same as a heart attack.