A Medical Device Daily

Local health organizations in the state of Nevada said they have partnered with Cardiac Science (Bothell, Washington), which focuses on advanced cardiac monitoring and defibrillation products, to report the formation of Nevada Project Heartbeat (Reno, Nevada), the first statewide Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program in the U.S.

Cardiac Science has been selected as the program's preferred manufacturer. The company will provide the program with Powerheart brand AEDs, and the partnership will use Cardiac Science's MasterTrak software to manage the Powerheart AEDs that are deployed across the state.

Nevada Project Heartbeat's goal is to improve Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) survivability in the state of Nevada. It aims to accomplish this goal by raising the average citizen's awareness of SCA, and by providing places of business, public agencies, and other organizations with the tools and training needed to make Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) available, accessible, and affordable.

The key to surviving sudden cardiac arrest is the speed with which cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation can be delivered. In addition to CPR, most cardiac arrest victims need an immediate defibrillation to restore the heart's normal rhythm. If a victim receives defibrillation within one minute of the SCA, there is a 90% chance of resuscitation. If a victim must wait ten minutes for defibrillation, the chance of survival drops to less than 5%.

"We want to make widely available the tools and training that will strengthen the average citizen's role as the first responder in a cardiac emergency," said Fergus Laughridge, program manager for Emergency Medical Services at the Nevada State Health Division. "If every citizen knows how to recognize the early signs of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, activate the emergency response system, and use an AED, then we can significantly improve the likelihood of surviving a SCA in Nevada, whether it occurs in Reno, Las Vegas or points in between, like Gabbs, population 318."

Nevada Project Heartbeat is sponsored by a partnership of local Nevada healthcare organizations that had previously facilitated the deployment of more than 500 AEDs in their own communities across the state.