

Truth about Defibrillators - too many fail at crucial moment - skmurphy
http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/the-shocking-truth-about-defibrillators/0

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skmurphy
"There are now 1.5 million AEDs deployed nationwide, five for each of the 300
000 people in the country who need them every year."

[...]

"Yet despite the enormous investment in these AEDs, the death rate from sudden
cardiac arrest is no better than it was 20 years ago. It still kills more
Americans than lung, breast, and prostate cancers and AIDS combined.
Worldwide, it kills about 7 million people a year."

[...]

"In 1998, Washington state began a citizen defibrillation program that
included advertising, public training sessions, and the creation of a detailed
registry of AED locations around the state. The survival rate for witnessed
sudden cardiac arrest in Seattle is now more than 45 percent, compared with
less than 0.5 percent in Detroit and 4 percent nationwide."

