From West Metro Fire Rescue:
West Metro Fire Rescue has launched the PulsePoint CPR/AED smartphone application to help improve survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest in the fire district. The app alerts citizens and medical professionals, trained in CPR to nearby emergencies, connecting them with those who need help and showing them the location of the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED), a portable device that sends an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal rhythm.
“Every second counts. When CPR is started immediately, in conjunction with an AED, research shows the number of people who survive a heart attack more than doubles,” said Jeremy Metz, EMS Division Chief, West Metro Fire Rescue. “The PulsePoint app can get help to someone immediately, just as our crews are being dispatched.”
Once the app is downloaded, an alert goes out if the user is within 400 meters (about a quarter mile) of the patient. The app points users to the nearest automated external defibrillator. App users can also place an AED’s location on a map, add a business and upload photos for easy access.
Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Nearly 325,000 die each year and 1,000 die each day. And while the American Heart Association estimates that effective bystander CPR can double or triple a person’s chance of survival, only about one quarter of cardiac victims receive bystander CPR.
“Improving bystander CPR rates and access to AEDs is critical to survival,” said Metz. “We have thousands of trained, potential “first responders” in our district. This app gives them the opportunity to help us save lives.”
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
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