Home Defibrillators Can Save Lives

If you watch medical dramas on TV, the chances are good that you have seen a crisis like this: A patient goes into cardiac arrest, someone yells “code blue” and doctors come rushing with a crash cart and defibrillator. Someone applies paddles to the patient’s chest, shouts “clear” and jolts the patient with electricity. The patient arches off the table and, with luck, is brought back from the brink of death.
Until fairly recently such high-tech emergency rescues were limited to hospitals, big clinics and ambulances. That’s because a medical team was needed to diagnose the heart rhythm abnormality and use the sophisticated equipment. Defibrillators were cumbersome and expensive.
All that has changed. In the past several years, defibrillators have been installed in public areas such as schools, police stations, health clubs and airports. The people using a defibrillator to restore normal heart rhythm in places like these usually have had no medical training.
Nonetheless, the results are excellent, with more than half of the victims surviving at least a year with good brain function. Traditional CPR, which requires training, results in a much lower rate of survival, around 5 percent.
Since 2003, patients at high risk have been able to ask their doctors to prescribe a home defibrillator. “HeartStart” is made by Philips Electronics and costs about $2,000. It is the size of a textbook and is designed so that almost anyone can use it.
People can read or listen to simple instructions that tell them how to place the paddles on the victim’s chest. If the machine detects a normal heart rhythm, it will not shock the patient. If it detects a life-threatening arrhythmia, on the other hand, it jolts the heart in an attempt to restore normal rhythm.
Now Philips would like to be allowed to sell HeartStart without a prescription. This is just the latest and most sophisticated step in medical device marketing.
Years ago anyone with high blood pressure had to see the doctor or nurse to have it measured with a complicated sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. Now home blood pressure monitors are easy to use, digital and affordable.
Diabetics are encouraged to check blood sugar at home with devices that are no bigger than a pack of cards. Pregnancy tests that used to take days through the doctor’s office can now be used at home and are more reliable than the old “rabbit tests.”
People who are susceptible to life-threatening allergic reactions may keep epinephrine on hand in a self-injectable “EpiPen” for emergency use.
Biochemistry and modern electronics have allowed amazing advances in diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Home defibrillators are just the latest advance in this process.
When someone goes into cardiac arrest, every second counts. The longer the heart cannot pump blood, the greater the likelihood of lasting damage or death.
As valuable as defibrillators can be to restore normal rhythm and get the heart going again, the first step in any cardiac emergency is to call 911. But while the first responders are on their way, family and friends can use a home defibrillator to buy precious minutes that could mean the difference between life and death.