By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
Public defibrillators expected to better current 5% cardiac arrest survival rate
HAGERSVILLE—Customers at Ron’s No Frills in Hagersville can rest a little easier knowing that the store is now outfitted with an easy-to-use automatic external defibrillator (AED) to aid in the event of a sudden cardiac event happening in the store.
“It’s a company initiative; they’re putting them into all No Frills stores,” said Hagersville store owner Ron Clark, who called the initiative a good thing for both customers and staff at the location. “I remember learning about them years ago at a first-aid course. The way they’re designed now, they’re great. The older ones were very difficult to operate – you pretty much had to be a paramedic to use one. Now, they’re basically automated; it does all the work for you.”
Haldimand Deputy Chief of Paramedic Services Don Otterman explained how the device functions, “An AED works by delivering a direct electrical impulse to interrupt a disorganized cardiac rhythm (ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia). This interruption is to allow the cardiac cycle to hopefully restart in an organized rhythm that will regain normal cardiac function.”
Clark added, “Basically, you open the box and there’s a green button you push. It starts asking you questions, like how old the person is, what symptoms they have, so you don’t accidentally give someone a jolt that doesn’t need it.”
He said the store is fortunate as well due to its close proximity to emergency services: “We’re super lucky here to be right next door to the ambulance station. When we’ve had people with issues in the past, such as blood sugar issues or breathing troubles, we call the paramedics and they’re here in a matter of a couple minutes.”
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, an estimated 35,000 cardiac arrests happen every year in Canada, with only 5% of victims surviving when the attack takes place outside of a hospital.
Otterman touched on some of the benefits of having an AED on-hand in public places and local businesses like No Frills, noting, “The introduction of defibrillation in the general public setting for the treatment of sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has led to improved patient survival. The survival of the victim of cardiac arrest is time critical. It is dependent upon the shortest possible time from onset of cardiac arrest to defibrillation.”
He added that he knows of at least three separate local occurrences in the past couple of years in Haldimand where the presence of an AED was the difference between life or death.
Otterman noted that public access defibrillators are designed to be very user-friendly and for any person trained or not to grab the machine and make it work without a struggle.
“The difference between a Public AED and what we use on the ambulance is we can control the amount of energy it is delivering and we can see what cardiac rhythm the patient is in to know if it is something we can shock or not, as well as many other diagnostic features we use,” he explained.
Clark said that customer and employee safety is an issue he takes seriously, with the new defibrillator being just one step they can take. He continued, “Anything extra you can add is always a benefit. We take a lot of effort to make sure we have a safe environment for our customers as-is. Having dry floors and carpets by the entrance, and training our staff on proper safety in the store makes a big difference.”
According to Otterman, leading a healthy lifestyle balanced with exercise and a healthy diet are still the leading ways to lessen the risk of cardiac events, in addition to regular check-ups with your doctor to stay on top of any potential risks.
“All of our staff are from the area, and all the customers are their friends and family and neighbours. The last thing we would ever want is for someone to get hurt or have a heart attack in the store without us being able to help them,” concluded Clark. “Our hope is that we never have to use it.”
