AEDs Can Help Prevent Nearly 300 Cardiac Related Deaths Per Day

Have you ever considered how you would handle it if an employee of yours fell victim to a sudden fatal condition at work? Hypothetical situations like this are probably the farthest thing from a busy shop owner's agenda. Sadly, these sorts of health problems happen so often that business owners should devote some time preparing themselves and their businesses for such an event.

Just over 1800 people died in the workplace over the course of 2001 and 2002, according to a report by OSHA. As many as 59 percent of the reported deaths could have been avoided with no greater preparation than the availability of an Automated External Defibrillator. An employee's probability of surviving literally decreases with each minute that passes. That means that an AED available to workers at a minutes notice can save a life.

Does your company really need an AED? Certain types of work might have greater need for such devices. For instance, those who work shift work are at an increased risk of cardiac arrest. 10,000 people die at the workplace in the United States each year, and many of these are not in high-risk occupations. Another important thing to note is that by the time emergency medical personnel arrive, the average survival rate has fallen to 5-7%.

Considering the relatively low cost of Heartstart defibrillators, most employers ought to consider them a necessary part of company first aid. A niche example of a designer who makes use of the best and most affordable AEDs and supplies is AEDLand. Consider the following story from the American Heart Association. At the age of 41, a Massachusetts factory worker lost consciousness after an adverse cardiac event. By the time EMTs arrived, the factory worker had been revived thanks to the use of an AED.

Employees can learn the signs of cardiac arrest, learn to perform CPR and receive training on AEDs with little investment on behalf of the employer. ILCOR strongly urges training employees on these machines as it "improves performance (e.g., speed of use, correct pad placement)." AED training has become easier and less risky with the introduction of AED trainers. These trainers operate exactly like real AED units outside of a couple key differences. Firstly, AED trainers don't produce electrical charge. The other difference that should be noted is the use of AA or D batteries, which makes their continual use very cost effective comparatively. An ACOEM article states that 200% more victims might be save with both CPR and AED training compared to CPR alone.

An average of three hundred workers' lives are imperiled each day by cardiac arrests that occur in the workplace. Fortunately, easy training and greater accessibility with regard to AEDs is increasing survival rates for sudden cardiac arrests in the workplace.

In Search Of . . . A Defibrillator Tell Me: Have You Seen An Automated External Defibrillator Lately?