Lebanon — Help for heart attack victims is closer than ever thanks to efforts by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the Zionsville Fire Department and Witham Health Services.
Wednesday, ZFD and WHS presented 20 automated external defibrillators — AEDs — to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Ken Campbell said the donation will put an AED in all of his duty vehicles.
The units deliver an electric shock that can reset a cardiac arrest victim’s heart, improving the odds of survival, according to the American Heart Association.
“These devices provide a critical life-saving shock to a victim in cardiac arrest,” said Deputy Chris Burcham, the BCSO’s public information officer.
“Early CPR and defibrillation are keys to saving lives,” said John Merson, director of emergency medical services at Witham Health Services. Brain cells deprived of oxygen because of a heart attack start dying four to six minutes after the heart has stopped, he said.
The Zionsville Fire Department has given AEDs to all Zionsville police vehicles, providing training in CPR and AED use, Burcham said.
In the last 18 months, Zionsville police officers who arrived before an ambulance have twice used AEDs to revive heart attack victims, Burcham said. One of those persons made a full recovery.
The heart association has said access to AEDs is making a critical difference in saving lives and increasing the chances that heart attack victims will survive long enough to reach an emergency room.
One example of that came just before this year’s Boone County Fair, Sheriff Ken Campbell said. A person was in full cardiac arrest and receiving CPR from Tony Carrell, an Extension agent who is also a Perry Township volunteer firefighter. Carrell and Campbell used an AED to restart the victim’s heart.
Campbell said Wednesday’s delivery of the AEDs is another example of inter-department cooperation that benefits Boone County’s citizens.
See Friday's Lebanon Reporter for the complete story.
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