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Home > Community Service > Defibrillator Fact Sheet

FACT SHEET

 

How AED's Save Lives
  • Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among adults in Canada
  • Without the timely use of an AED, the chance of survival is extremely low
  • Calgary EMS statistics from 1998 showed only 2 of a total of 282 cases survived
  • One study showed that defibrillation in the first minute of an attack can increase the chances of survival by up to 90 per cent.
  • If defibrillation is delayed, chances of survival decrease by about 10 per cent per minute. This shows how critically important it is to have defibrillators on hand.

The need in community hockey rinks
  • A critical need that has been identified recently is the lack of AED machines in community ice facilities. Although all of the community rinks administered by the City of Calgary have been supplied with machines few of the community-run facilities have been able to afford them.
    •

  • There are 11 ice hockey facilities (18 sheets of ice) operated by the City of Calgary, all of which have been supplied with AED machines. At the same time, the community associations operate 18 such facilities (23 sheets of ice) but only 3 of these have been able to afford AED machines.

 

Questions and Answers (from Chicago Sun-Times, June 27, 1999)
  1. What is the cause of sudden cardiac arrest?
    2.

    The electrical system in the heart normally supplies a gentle impulse that regulates the heartbeat. A sudden cardiac arrest begins when the electrical discharges become chaotic, and cause the heart to beat in a wild frenzy. A variety of problems can trigger this electrical storm, including irritation from an enlarged heart and plugged arteries. These conditions are often silent, causing no symptoms until this critical complication is unleashed.

  2. How does an AED work?
    3.

    The AED delivers an electric treatment to the chest that literally jump-starts the heart and restores a regular beat.

  3. Does it hurt when a patient receives a shock from an AED?
    4.

No. Patients who require this treatment have lost consciousness and do not feel the electric treatment.