Defibrillators

Defibrillators

How important is having a Defibrillator/AED device readily available to someone that suffers from a cardiac arrest?

The figures below show just how vital it is to your family, friends, co-workers or others, to have an operational Defibrillator readily available if a Cardiac Arrest incident was ever to occur. When someone experiences a sudden cardiac arrest, the longer the wait until the first defibrillator shock, the less their chances of survival.

The importance of bystanders in saving a life:

In 2022/23, over half (53%) of the patients who received bystander defibrillation survived to hospital discharge, compared with only 26% of patients who received their first defibrillation from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responders.

Also, those who receive CPR from a bystander are more likely to present to EMS in a shockable cardiac rhythm and therefore they have a greater chance of survival. 12% of patients who received bystander CPR survived to hospital discharge, compared with 5% of patients who did not receive bystander CPR.

These figures reiterate the importance of bystander interventions.

Survival to Hospital Discharge

Bystander interventions improve survival outcomes.

Source – Victorian Ambulance VACAR Report 2022-’23