Local town sets up defibrilators to combat sudden cardiac death

• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-13 09:08
  Pretty cool if you ask me.
  
  Source in German
  
  Translation:
  

  Vellmar. Cardiac Arrest is the leading cause of death in Germany. Here in this country around 400 people die every day of so-called sudden cardiac arrest.
  
  Not only people with cardiac diseases are threatened by this. It can hit anybody, and mostly without previous warning signals. A sudden cardiac arrest can occur when the heart beats irregularly and gets out of step.
  
  Because of the so-called ventricular fibrillation body and brain are not sufficiently provided with oxygen rich blood. Unconsciousness and asystolia are the consequence. If the afflicted then doesn't get help fast he'll die before reaching the hospital. The first aider with the defibrilator got about 8 minutes to initaite the life-saving measures. With every following minute the risk of permanent brain damage grows.
  
  Already two years ago Vellmar's municipal fire inspector Wolfhard Eidenmüller, physician Dr. Samir Ragab and DRK member Timo Hausotter developed a concept how to improve this first aid situation in Vellmar.
  
  Everyone can help.
  
  "Until now 15 defibrilators have been purchased and installed at various public places throughout the whole town", Eidenmüller explains. For this a cooperation with the company Hillus from Krefeld has been made, who since 25 years work with modern medicinal technology and rents out the "automatical external defibrilators" (AED) for each seven years. Included are maintenance and the training of groups of people who preferably live nearby the AED-location.
  
  This training is done by co-initiator and DRK member Timo Hausotter. Even if these devices explain their usage automatically with voice , already 40 civil servants, including pool supervisors and town hall employees, have been trained with the new equipment. In the end about 15 people per device should be familiar with their usage.
  
  "We consider this the right way, and gladly go ahead", says Vellmar's mayor Dirk Stochla, as the last of the 15 devices was installed in the town hall. "Of course we are hoping that more devices, for example by super markets, doctor offices, restaurants and associations, will be purchased in individual initiative."
  
  This way a dense net of live saving devices could emerge, which would then be as widespread as extinguishers, the mayor suggests. He refers to a public meeting about the topic "sudden cardiac arrest", which is supposed to happen on the third of November on the Vellmar town hall square.

• Yoorah wrote on 2011-07-13 22:48
  I think it's more sad than cool. :(
  People need to take better care of their health.
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-14 01:44
  This is not about obesity or something.
  
  
  
  Though I guess refusing to work so much would help with the stress-aspect.
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2011-07-14 02:11
  I wonder why this is such a problem in Germany.
  
  What environmental factors could be causing this.
  
  I think a lot of meaningful results could be gather from more research of that town.
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-14 19:10
  It's not actually very special. It's apparently slighty above Europe's average.
  
  Which I guess is still pretty average.
  
  
  Maybe we jsut die less of other stuff ebcause we're so good at whatever keeps us from dying those ways. :awesome:
• Chiyuri wrote on 2011-07-14 19:16
  Natural selection is trying to do something I believe.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-14 19:23
  More does need to be setup here and there though.
  
  I mean, I think each facility should have at least one at an easily accessible location.
  
  Sure prevention is key, but there are multitudes of factors that contribute to cardiac arrest. If it means we can save someone's life with one of these set up, I think its worth the investment.