shade
Well-known member
Even if it was a shockable rythem. It's still in the single digits it's successful. ( percentage wise ) And once they are shocked, and you get a rythem back- they are still usually unconscious, requiring medication and a lot of times help to breath. As well, as treatment for what caused the failure in the first place.
It's not like the movies, where someone go's down, gets shocked by the AED, and just walks away. That being said, there is always an exception.
Where it's true they are cheaper, they still need immediate ALS care and support after use.
The AED, is just a part of the system.
I am not aware of any that require it, and it's not a bad idea: I think you can get a decent one for under $1500, now.
Sent from somewhere remote on my BlackBerry
Yep.
I know I may sound harsh, but it really is a powerful, fascinating experience to watch someone go from saying, "I'm feeling a little better now," to full crump mode in less than a minute - with a trauma team working on them just as hard as they can. We're complicated machines.
If I had to pick one for the backcountry, I'd take a two-way satellite communication device over an AED; both would be nice, of course. There are many ways a first responder can prolong life long enough to hand a casualty off to a SAR team, but an AED is a specialized tool of limited use. AEDs are great when Advanced Life Support (ALS) is available by cell phone and already rolling in an ambulance only minutes away.
I'm just a lay person, but that's how I see it.