Bystander training on spotting and using defibrillators can greatly improve cardiac arrest survival, but many people don’t know what to do.

When a woman collapsed on an escalator at the Buffalo airport last June, Phil Clough knew what to do. He and another bystander put her flat on her back and checked her pulse and her breathing. Then she stopped breathing altogether. Realizing that she might be having a cardiac arrest, Clough immediately started doing chest compressions, pressing hard and quickly on the center of her chest, while others nearby called 911 and ran to get an automated external defibrillator. Within seconds of receiving a shock from the AED, the woman opened her eyes. By the time the airport rescue team arrived a few minutes later, she was conscious and able to talk with rescuers.

Read More

Forsyth County Emergency Services receives five ZOLL® AED 3 Defibrillators to place in the community.

Forsyth County Emergency Services, in North Carolina, has won the 2024 PulsePoint AED Contest, winning five ZOLL® AED 3 Defibrillators for their community. The contest took place during the month of October, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, and was eligible to any community using PulsePoint AED to locate and register AEDs. Forsyth County Emergency Services collectively registered a record number of AEDs, 555, at locations throughout the county including schools, government buildings, local businesses and gyms. The newly registered AEDs are part of the free and universally accessible National Emergency AED Registry, hosted by PulsePoint.

Read More

Public safety telecommunicators utilizing APCO’s IntelliComm software can now quickly direct 9-1-1 callers during time-critical cardiac emergencies to the closest automated external defibrillator (AED). The life-saving advancement comes from the implementation of an AED geolocation plan between APCO’s IntelliComm and the PulsePoint Foundation.

The tool enables 9-1-1 telecommunicators to inform callers of the location of AEDs while using existing medical dispatch protocols within IntelliComm’s software, with no changes to workflow—saving critical time during life-threatening emergencies.

Each year in the U.S., there are approximately 360,000 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)-assessed cardiac arrests outside of a hospital and on average, less than 10 percent of victims survive. The keys to survival are early recognition, early CPR and early defibrillation. Action taken by bystanders prior to the arrival of EMS results in victims being two to three times more likely to survive.

Read More

With your help dispatch center staff can inform 9-1-1 callers of nearby lifesaving devices.

In recognition of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, the PulsePoint Foundation will be holding a contest throughout the month of October to encourage AED location identification and registration so these life-saving devices can be disclosed to 9-1-1 dispatchers and those nearby during a cardiac emergency.

Anyone who registers an AED in October with the free PulsePoint AED app, or online at AED.new will be eligible to win one of ten $500 Amazon gift cards. Collectively, the community that registers the most AEDs will be granted $5,000 worth of new AEDs to provide to public safety staff or place in their community.

Read More