Once limited to hospital emergency rooms and cardiac care units, defibrillators now come in a compact size not much bigger than a hardcover book. The five-minute goal can be met by widespread placement of portable defibrillators and widespread training of first responders and lay people in how to use them with CPR, Haldenwanger said. The units are being placed in airplanes, at airports, in shopping malls, in fire and rescue units, in police cars, business offices, schools and many other places. In many situations, lay people with the updated CPR training can use defibrillators and save lives. Portable defibrillator units used in CPR training at Anoka-Hennepin Technical College.
Textbook shows size of the life-saving devices.
These marvelous new units have built-in sound systems. They tell you what to do, they analyze the victim s heartbeat, they tell you whether to start CPR, and then tell you to stand clear if a shock should be administered, she said. If a shock is recommended, you push a button and the machine does the rest. Each defibrillator has small electrode patches attached to electrical cords running from the defibrillator. A diagram on each patch tells you where to place them on the victim s chest.