Blogs

Medics On The Ball has secured its place as Southern California’s premier event medical standby company thanks to a recent authorization from Los Angeles County to carry and use Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at all events.

AEDs are small portable electronic devices used by emergency medical professionals to analyze the heart’s rhythm in case of a potential heart attack. If necessary, these critical machines deliver an electrical shock, known as defibrillation, which helps the heart re-establish an effective rhythm, potentially saving a life.

This authorization by LA County is typically only given to highly experienced public safety personnel, such as firefighters and police officers. Thanks to excessive training and diligent efforts, Medics On The Ball is happy to announce it is now one of the few companies based in Southern California with an authorization to carry these vital devices.

Sudden cardiac arrest emergency bags to be sent worldwide

The odds of footballers across the world surviving an on-pitch sudden cardiac arrest may be significantly improved with today's announcement of the new FIFA Medical Emergency Bag (FMEB) which will be issued to all of FIFA's 209 member associations.

Presenting the FMEB backpack to the congress delegates, FIFA's Chief Medical Officer Professor Jiri Dvorak, said pitch-side medics and first responders will be trained to use the potentially life-saving technology. The critical element of the FMEB is the automated external defibrillator (AED), easily visible in a clear pocket at the front of the bag. This portable device can immediately diagnose suspected heart problems and defibrillation can be initiated if the heartbeat appears weak, irregular or has stopped altogether. The bag also holds an instructional video and a medical emergency kit.

TRENTON – In an effort to prevent instances of sudden cardiac death, Senator Fred H. Madden sponsored legislation that would require that all annual physical examinations given to children under the age of 19 include questions evaluating the child’s cardiovascular disease risk, and require health care practitioners who perform these examinations to complete training on cardiac screening. The bill was approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services & Senior Citizens Committee.

“While sudden cardiac death is the number one killer among student athletes, we cannot ignore the fact that all children - regardless of whether they participate in sports – could be susceptible to heart conditions that cause sudden death,” said Senator Madden, D-Gloucester and Camden. “This bill is about expanding procedures for all medical examinations, so that every child receives a baseline evaluation about their cardiac health.”

Extracting from El-Ad, Baruch; Lavie, Peretz (2005). "Effect of sleep apnea on cognition and mood". International Review of Psychiatry 17 (4): 577–582. "patients complain about excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and impaired alertness. In other words, common effects of sleep apnea include daytime fatigue, a slower reaction time, and vision problems. Moreover, patients are examined using standard test batteries in order to further identify parts of the brain that are affected by sleep apnea. Tests have shown that certain parts of the brain cause different effects. The executive functioning part of the brain affects the way the patient plans and initiates tasks. Second, the part of the brain that deals with attention causes difficulty in paying attention, working effectively and processing information when in a waking state.

The FDA is proposing to reclassify AEDs as Class III medical devices. This change will require manufacturers to go through a much more time consuming and costly regulatory process before their AEDs can be sold. Why? According to the agency’s proposed rule, the primary purpose of reclassification is to reduce the risk of illness or injury resulting from AED failures. Yet, a study relied upon by the agency finds that AEDs work as intended during rescue attempts greater than 99% of the time. This is a clear example of the perfect as the enemy of the good (or even great) driving a regulatory action that will cost lives and money with very little public health benefit.

Veto of Bill on CPR Training in Schools Holds
06/07/2013 10:27 AM ET

The bill sought to train high school students in life-saving techniques including CPR and the use of automatic external defibrillators.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ Gov. Paul LePage's veto of a bill calling for cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in Maine schools will stand.

A 22-13 Senate vote Thursday fell two short of the number needed to override the governor's veto. The bill sought to train high school students in life-saving techniques including CPR and the use of automatic external defibrillators. The House had voted to override the governor's veto Wednesday.

Supporters said the bill will save lives. But Republicans supporting the governor's veto said that while school districts should implement CPR training, the state shouldn't order them to do so through laws.

It was the ninth veto this session lawmakers have failed to override.

[From the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.]

Make a list of the people most likely to be present when / if you have a cardiac arrest. Make sure they get trained in CPR.

Make sure those people know how they are going to get you from the recliner onto the floor...or out of bed and onto the floor. If they are strong enough to pick you up and lay you down on your back on the floor, that's super - but most likely, they are not. In that case...If you're in a recliner, they should use the handle to make the recliner as level as possible, throw a cushion onto the floor where your head will hit the floor, grab your ankles and pull until you are on the floor. If you're in bed, they should un-tuck the bottom sheet on the far side of the bed, toss it over you, return to the side of the bed where you are, throw a pillow on the floor where your head will hit the floor, and pull on the sheet until you roll out of bed.

More than 1,000 people have signed a Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation petition urging the Food and Drug Administration not to reclassify AEDs as high-risk class III devices. Here are some of their comments:

(CN) - The California Supreme Court should provide guidance on demands that all retailers there need defibrillators for customer emergencies, the 9th Circuit said Tuesday. Mary Ann Verdugo experienced sudden cardiac arrest in 2008 while shopping at a Target in Pico Rivera, Calif. It took paramedics several minutes to arrive, and the 49-year-old died at the scene. The tragedy is not uncommon, according to the 9th Circuit, which noted that 300,000 people go into sudden cardiac arrest every year in America. Only 8 percent survive, and those who do generally have their heart restarted by an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) within five minutes. While Target sells AEDs on its website, it does not require their installation in its stores. Verdugo's mother and brother sued the retailer for wrongful death, but Target disputes that it has a duty to install AEDs in its stores.

Smartphones, already used to alert us of such pressing matters as sports scores and new Facebook posts, could soon help save lives in L.A.

The Los Angeles Fire Department will soon begin using an application called PulsePoint, which sends messages to people's cellphones when someone is having a cardiac emergency nearby.

The hope is that people trained in CPR will install the app, see the alerts and be able to start life-saving treatment before paramedics arrive.

Sometimes, after they see an ambulance pull up, bystanders wish they had known someone needed help, said Capt. Tom Gikas, who works in the Fire Department's Planning Section.

"How many people on a given evening in a local restaurant know CPR?" Gikas wondered.

That's exactly the question that led to PulsePoint.

Richard Price, now president of the PulsePoint Foundation, said it started about three years ago, when he was the fire chief in the San Ramon Valley, east of Oakland.