title: Automated external defibrillators and sudden cardiac arrest.
abstract: In April 1998, R.R., aged 72 (a man with no prior history of cardiac disease), was leaving his house with two friends to play golf when he suddenly collapsed. One friend initiated CPR, and the other called 911 on his cellular phone. A Chatham police squad arrived within three minutes; the police "first responder" applied a portable automated external defibrillator (AED) to the unresponsive patient. The AED instructed the first responder to push the shock button. Pulse and blood pressure were immediately restored, and the patient was brought to the Overlook Hospital Emergency Room. The patient subsequently awakened, had a cardiac catheterization revealing severe three-vessel coronary artery disease, and then underwent successful coronary artery bypass surgery. Two and a half years later he remained asymptomatic and was seen in the office of his cardiologist for a routine semiannual exam. Later that same day he was scheduled to play golf with the same two friends who had previously saved his life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology at Overlook and Morristown Memorial Hospitals, USA.
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Sachs
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kerwin
mesh_terms: D004554:Electric Countershock; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009515:New Jersey