Mohegan Fire Showcases AutoPulse on NBC

[WAS967 97]

Happened to tape this report on Live at 5 tonight. Caught it on review. Wish I had capture abilities, or I'd cap it and sned it to anyone who wants it.

NBC News Report on AutoPulse at Mohegan Fire

New Device Saves People From Heart Attacks

Every year, more than three quarters of a million Americans suffer a heart attack.

And since it takes time for an ambulance to arrive, your best chance to survive that heart attack is having someone start CPR to keep the blood flowing.

Now there's a new machine that can improve your chances.

“I got just about out of the parking lot by the store and I went out like a light,” said Jim Murphy, who suffered a heart attack. “(It was) just like shutting off a light switch.”

Both Murphy and Beau Travis had a sudden cardiac arrest, a lethal type of heart attack where the heart just stops and which has less than a 5-percent survival rate.

What helped save these two men were the paramedics of the Lake Mohegan Fire District. And, the ZOLL AutoPulse. It does what a human can rarely do: perform perfect CPR.

A number of studies have shown that traditional, manual CPR isn't very effective, even if done well, at maintaining blood circulation to vital organs such as the brain, heart and lungs. Plus, CPR is tiring hard to do in some places. But not for the autoplulse.

“When we're moving someone down a flight of stairs, it's just about impossible to do effective CPR,” aid Capt. Rick Strauss of the Lake Mohegan Fire District. “Whereas this machine keeps working and does a job until we get the person into the ambulance and continues working uh until we get to the ER.”

Here's how it works. After the victim is placed on the AutoPulse board, the belt is secured around the chest. It adjusts automatically to the patient before starting chest compressions. It even pauses automatically to allow paramedics to ventilate the victim.

Lake Mohegan was one of the first fire-rescue departments to get the AutoPulse, much to Murphy and Travis’ gratitude.

“Yes, and I’m glad they did,” said Travis. “I'm glad the fire department had it.”

“I would’ve been dead,” said Murphy. “Every day’s a joy now.”

The AutoPulse can be used with the new automatic external defibrillators that shock a heart back into action.

But remember, this device isn't meant to replace manual CPR. Even poor CPR is better than none.

The machine helps rescue squads do their job better and improve your chances.

[WAS967 97]

BTW, when I watched the report, I was like "But wait, the AutoPulse is by Revivant, NOT Zoll." Well, both are correct. Apparently Revivant is a subsidiary of Zoll.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Good for them on PR, and they deserve it. I'll have to keep looking for their medics though. lol.

[WAS967 97]

Good for them on PR, and they deserve it.  I'll have to keep looking for their medics though. lol. 

Yet another example of public ignorance. People see an ambulance pull up and they immediatly assume they have paramedics coming to the rescue, when they are getting EMTs. OR in the case of last night, 4 drivers and "no EMS on board". LOL

[Guest]

So have we deemed this "auto-pulse" effective? Or is the jury still out on that.

[CG206 29]

Seeing this device used first hand, it is a case by case senario. I have seen this device used for the good and for the bad. Every patient is different, and depending upon this, decides the effectiveness in using such a device. In all cases where the device is ineffective, manual compressions are performed.

[WAS967 97]

So have we deemed this "auto-pulse" effective? Or is the jury still out on that.

A recent article in EMS Magazine mentioned two studies on the Auto Pulse that seemed to put it in a favorable light. It's only under scrutiny in California after that recent case where a Gentleman died. They must have had a specific reason why they suspected the AutoPulse, that reason just has not been published in detail yet.