HOW A DEFIBRILLATOR WORKS
This life-saving device can be used by medical professionals and the general public
WORDS AILSA HARVEY
When a person’s heart stops beating suddenly – a condition called cardiac arrest – they have a one in ten chance of survival. Without this vital organ delivering oxygen throughout the body, a person will die within a matter of minutes. In the UK alone, cardiac arrest causes 25,000 people to lose their lives outside of hospitals every year. However, if a machine called a defibrillator can be used on them within one minute of a cardiac arrest, a person’s chance of their heart returning to its usual rhythm is 90 per cent. This is why defibrillators are often seen outside public buildings. The more defibrillators there are on the streets, the more lives can be saved. And no medical professional is needed, as public defibrillators come with precise audio and visual instructions.