EMT-defibrillation: a recipe for saving lives.
Sudden cardiac death is the number-one cause of death in this country. It has long been known that most of these deaths occur outside of the hospital, therefore necessitating an approach to the problem involving prehospital care. The development of advanced life support emergency medical systems has had a dramatic impact on improving survival in selected communities. Most of the country continues to see little result because of our inability to provide timely defibrillation. Automatic external defibrillators now provide a safe, reliable, proven method to increase the number of "saves" in rural, urban, and suburban communities. This new tool, if widely used, will allow us to save scores of "hearts too good to die."
Paris
P M
PM
Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania.
D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D001331:Automation; D002568:Certification; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000379:methods; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000628:therapy*