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Florissant Valley FPD Treating Sudden Cardiac With New Device
(Special to the Independent News)
Florissant Valley Fire Protection District recently equipped all three of its ambulances with a new tool to help Florissant Valley paramedics and firefighters treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
The ZOLL AutoPulse® Non-invasive Cardiac Support can improve blood flow to the heart and brain during SCA. The AutoPulse can achieve these never-before-seen levels of circulation because of the unique, consistent chest compressions it generates. It can move more blood more effectively than any other method used today in Florissant.
“Once a person is in cardiac arrest, every minute counts to get the heart beating normally again,” said Chief Medical Officer Mark Flauter. “For every minute that passes the chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. After 10 minutes, survival is unlikely.
“Our goal is to protect the lives of our district’s citizens, and this purchase is an important step in helping to achieve that goal. I have been a professional first responder for more than 15 years, and I have never seen a device that does what the AutoPulse does. With it, we are better prepared to deal with SCA.”
Flauter also noted that another benefit of the AutoPulse is its ability to perform these consistent chest compressions as clinicians transport a patient. Whether in the back of an ambulance or on a hospital gurney, the AutoPulse also helps to ensure clinician safety during a rescue.
SCA is an abrupt disruption of the heart’s function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs. This lack of blood flow can result in the loss of blood pressure, pulse, and consciousness. In nearly half of all victims, SCA is caused by an abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF). VF occurs when the nerves in the heart malfunction, causing the left ventricle (the heart’s main pumping chamber) to quiver or “fibrillate.” Stricken with this chaotic rhythm, the heart cannot effectively pump oxygenated blood to the brain and other vital organs throughout the body.
About half of all victims who suddenly collapse outside of a hospital initially require defibrillation, said Flauter. For other victims, however, who have heart arrhythmias that will not respond to defibrillation, the critical action for survival is achieving effective blood flow that feeds oxygen to the body.
