Hours See equipment picture links below Background Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the immediate termination of human life by unexpected stopping of the heart with little or no warning. Sudden Cardiac Arrest affects all segment of the population, but is most common in persons with Coronary Artery Disease. It is responsible for approximately 350,000 deaths in the United States each year. In nearly all cases of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, what is needed to restart the heart with a perfusing, beating rhythm is a transthoracic shock, or defibrillation.
Defibrillation serves to depolarize the majority of the myocardial muscle mass.
Unfortunately, defibrillation is only effective within the first few minutes after cardiac arrest, with each passing minute without defibrillation greatly reducing the patient s chances for survival. Because of these factors, the availability of this equipment and people qualified to use it was very limited. As a result, typically times for this equipment to arrive at the patient s side were long, and the patient died. With the advent of new and improved technology, this is beginning to change. Microcomputer technology has eliminated the need for the operator to receive extensive training.