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Do-It-Yourself Defibrillators
Aired November 11, 2003 - 14:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So you may have notice defibrillators are showing up everywhere, in public buildings, in your office, maybe even your church. And the latest research shows they're getting used jumpstarting hearts and saving lives. But would you know what to do with it in an emergency?
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is going to give us a little demonstration. Elizabeth, good to have you with us.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. It can sound very intimidating. You're in an airport. The guy standing next to you drops to the floor, appears to be in cardiac arrest. And you think, I wish the guys from "ER" or an emergency service worker were here.
But in fact when just your average Joe does use a defibrillator, whether at an airport or church or mall, they're very successful. A new study from the American Heart Association says they are just as successful at when an emergency worker does it.
Now, that may sound incredible. So we want to show you just how easy these things are to use. And we have with us here a model. And because they actually are supposed to be used on bare skin.
Here's the defibrillator. Here's how it works. These get pulled out, there are two stickers. You have to be an idiot not to figure out where they go. This is really life saving for dummies here.
This first one gets out right here. They're usually stickier. We've done this so many times. And the second one goes right here. And then you look at this, you press the number one.
MECHANIZED VOICED: Analyzing heart rhythm. Do not touch the patient.
COHEN: This is where they yell clear. The reason why they're analyzing the heart rhythm is that if his heart is OK, you wouldn't want to deliver a shock.
MECHANIZED VOICE: Shock advised. Charging. Stay clear of patient.
COHEN: This is a training thing.
MECHANIZED VOICE: Electric shock now. Shock delivered. COHEN: That is it. That's all there is to it. That is all there is to it. It's pressing one button and when it tells you it's pressing another button, it is much easier than it might seem.
Now this is a training thing. This is not an actual defibrillator. So that's why we could do this even though obviously his heart is working just fine.
O'BRIEN: So when this happens, and, of course, panic is setting in, how much time do have you to save someone?
COHEN: You don't have a lot of time and that's why these are so important, because oftentimes you can't get an emergency worker there when you want one.
So let's go through what some of these numbers are. A patient can die just four minutes after a cardiac arrest. That's all it can take sometimes is four minutes.
The chance of survival decreases 10 percent every minute. So if do you that math, that means that after ten minutes without defibrillation, there is no chance of survival. That's why it is so important to do the defibrillation process within the first ten minutes at least, earlier hopefully.
O'BRIEN: Hopefully. And of course I want to tell our viewers that my chest is just like that, too. All right.
COHEN: We were going to use you. You just couldn't get your tie back on.
O'BRIEN: Yes, too busy. Looking good there, guys.
COHEN: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 11, 2003 - 14:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So you may have notice defibrillators are showing up everywhere, in public buildings, in your office, maybe even your church. And the latest research shows they're getting used jumpstarting hearts and saving lives. But would you know what to do with it in an emergency?
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is going to give us a little demonstration. Elizabeth, good to have you with us.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. It can sound very intimidating. You're in an airport. The guy standing next to you drops to the floor, appears to be in cardiac arrest. And you think, I wish the guys from "ER" or an emergency service worker were here.
But in fact when just your average Joe does use a defibrillator, whether at an airport or church or mall, they're very successful. A new study from the American Heart Association says they are just as successful at when an emergency worker does it.
Now, that may sound incredible. So we want to show you just how easy these things are to use. And we have with us here a model. And because they actually are supposed to be used on bare skin.
Here's the defibrillator. Here's how it works. These get pulled out, there are two stickers. You have to be an idiot not to figure out where they go. This is really life saving for dummies here.
This first one gets out right here. They're usually stickier. We've done this so many times. And the second one goes right here. And then you look at this, you press the number one.
MECHANIZED VOICED: Analyzing heart rhythm. Do not touch the patient.
COHEN: This is where they yell clear. The reason why they're analyzing the heart rhythm is that if his heart is OK, you wouldn't want to deliver a shock.
MECHANIZED VOICE: Shock advised. Charging. Stay clear of patient.
COHEN: This is a training thing.
MECHANIZED VOICE: Electric shock now. Shock delivered. COHEN: That is it. That's all there is to it. That is all there is to it. It's pressing one button and when it tells you it's pressing another button, it is much easier than it might seem.
Now this is a training thing. This is not an actual defibrillator. So that's why we could do this even though obviously his heart is working just fine.
O'BRIEN: So when this happens, and, of course, panic is setting in, how much time do have you to save someone?
COHEN: You don't have a lot of time and that's why these are so important, because oftentimes you can't get an emergency worker there when you want one.
So let's go through what some of these numbers are. A patient can die just four minutes after a cardiac arrest. That's all it can take sometimes is four minutes.
The chance of survival decreases 10 percent every minute. So if do you that math, that means that after ten minutes without defibrillation, there is no chance of survival. That's why it is so important to do the defibrillation process within the first ten minutes at least, earlier hopefully.
O'BRIEN: Hopefully. And of course I want to tell our viewers that my chest is just like that, too. All right.
COHEN: We were going to use you. You just couldn't get your tie back on.
O'BRIEN: Yes, too busy. Looking good there, guys.
COHEN: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
