Activeforever Philips HeartStart AED OnSite Defibrillator - Manual (Page 3)

3 Philips HeartStart OnSite Defibrillator
arrest can happen to
anywhere.
Power to save a life
Each year sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)
strikes approximately 340,000 people in the
U.S. alone, and hundreds of thousands more
worldwide.The majority of these people
have no warning, since they show no prior
symptoms. And sadly, fewer than 5% survive,
often because emergency medical services
cannot reach them in time.
SCA most often occurs when the electrical
system of the heart becomes chaotic,
causing it to stop beating effectively. Lacking
proper blood flow, the person becomes
unresponsive, stops breathing, and will die
unless promptly treated. CPR is important,
but it alone cannot restore a normal heart
rhythm. A “shock” from a defibrillator is the
most effective way to restore the heart’s
normal pumping rhythm. The victim’s best
chance of survival is to receive that shock
within 5 minutes of collapse. Just as seat belts
or airbags do not save every life in a traffic
accident, a defibrillator will not save every
person who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest.
Yet many lives could be saved if more people
could be reached more quickly.
Philips HeartStart Defibrillators enable
virtually anyone to treat the most common
cause of SCA by delivering a shock quickly
and effectively, wherever it happens – at
work, at play, in the air – providing the power
to save a life.