June 27, 2013 - GPS-like Technology for CPR More than Doubles Survival from Leading Cause of Death in the US
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Diane Egan |
GPS-LIKE TECHNOLOGY FOR CPR MORE THAN DOUBLES SURVIVAL FROM LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE US
Study Shows Thousands of Lives Could Be Saved with Improved CPR Quality and Training
June 27, 2013—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL Medical Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that survival from one of the leading causes of death in the United States, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, more than doubled from 26% to 56% when paramedics in Mesa, Arizona utilized ZOLL’s CPR feedback technology in combination with scenario-based training. The findings also showed that high-quality CPR was associated with significantly improved neurologically intact survival.
A remarkable 56% of witnessed cardiac arrest victims in Mesa survived with good functional outcomes in this study, which used ZOLL’s defibrillators with Real CPR Help®. The GPS-like technology allows rescuers to “see” and receive real-time audiovisual feedback on the quality of their CPR, including the depth and rate of their chest compressions.
“We believe that CPR is the most important factor in cardiac resuscitation. But it’s not just about doing CPR, it’s about doing CPR right,” said study author Ben Bobrow, MD, who is the Medical Director for the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Bureau of EMS and Trauma System and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center, University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix.
“The fact that more than twice as many people returned home to their families shows the great importance of CPR quality and the huge potential CPR feedback technology has in improving outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest,” Bobrow added. “These results clearly demonstrate how critical it is to measure CPR quality during each and every cardiac resuscitation.”
ZOLL’s Real CPR Help uses audio and visual prompts to guide the rescuers to the actual depth of 2 inches and rate of 100 chest compressions per minute as recommended in the 2010 American Heart Association (AHA) Guidelines. The Mesa study validates the consensus statement published by AHA this week, of which Dr. Bobrow is a co-author, which recommends the use of some means to measure CPR quality during all resuscitations both inside and outside the hospital.
“Providing consistent, manual CPR is not easy for anyone, even the most experienced rescuer. Manual CPR without any feedback is often very poor with lots of interruptions and suboptimal compressions. Using real-time CPR feedback is like having a GPS for resuscitation; it guides the rescuer to where he needs to be and encourages corrections if he goes off course,” said A.J. Heightman, EMT-P, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
Results of the Arizona study, which were recently published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, are the findings of the four-year endeavor called the Arizona Pre-hospital CPR Quality Improvement Project that was undertaken by the Mesa Fire/Medical Department in conjunction with the Save Hearts in Arizona Registry & Education (SHARE) Program. The analysis included 484 cardiac arrests patients; the median age was 68 years and 66.5% were men.
About Sudden Cardiac Arrest
SCA, an abrupt disruption of the heart’s function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs, occurs an estimated 380,000 times each year in the United States and claims more than one million lives globally each year. SCA is the leading cause of unexpected death in the world and often strikes without warning. Survival varies widely among communities, yet overall averages around 8% in the U.S. Implementing a system of care including early recognition, 9-1-1, CPR instructions, early defibrillation, and high-quality professional CPR, along with guideline-based, post-arrest care could save as many as half of these victims.
About ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, fluid resuscitation, and therapeutic temperature management, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and critical care. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.
About Asahi Kasei
The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by holding company Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the chemicals and fibers, homes and construction materials, electronics, and health care business sectors. Its health care operations include devices and systems for critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, and nutritional products. With more than 25,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/.
Copyright © 2013 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. Real CPR Help and ZOLL are registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.