Friends of Heart presented six additional automated external defibrillators (AED) to the Madison County Sheriff Department at 317 Denmark-Jackson Road, Friday.
The number of AEDs donated to the Sheriff’s Department has now reached 14.
Friends of Heart donated eight AEDs to the Sheriff’s Department, in 2018.
One of the main goals of Friends of Heart is to provide the community with live-saving resources.
These devices recalibrate deadly heart rhythms of a person who has gone into cardiac arrest. These actions can mean the difference between life and death, especially in rural areas where it can take EMS longer to arrive.
The AEDs are simple to use and can be operated without a medical professional present. They are helping assist the Sheriff’s Department in attempting to ensure every sheriff car has an AED. This is a great asset for our first responders in hopes to help save lives.
Friends of Heart has now placed over 60 AEDs in public rural areas throughout West Tennessee.
Friends of Heart partners with the West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center to meet the needs of heart patients. The mission of Friends of Heart is to be a community led and community centered group, ensuring the best heart and vascular care for West Tennesseans.’
This effort is designed to keep fundraising dollars local, serving the people of West Tennessee.
AED’s are a very important part of the total response to sudden cardiac arrest in the community.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the US claiming approximately 365,000 lives in North America each year. Most commonly this sudden cardiac arrest, or stoppage of the heart, occurs because of an electrical event. Automated External Defibrillators in the community allow bystanders to deliver a shock to a patient’s heart quickly while others proceed to contact and/or direct medical professionals in the scene area.
Survival is directly linked to the time interval between the SCA and the first AED shock delivered to the victim. Statistics validate that when a shock is delivered within one minute, survival rates can increase 17-fold from five percent (by relying on EMS only to respond) to levels as high as 86 percent in some cases.
(PHOTO: Friends of Heart representatives present six new AEDs to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Friday)
David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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