Knowing how to use a defibrillator is an important life skill to have, the rate of sudden cardiac arrests are rising and the rate of survival is even less so it’s important to be prepared for any eventuality. This blog will go through how to use a defibrillator depending on your gender, how to get trained and the importance of using one.
How to use a defibrillator on a man and a woman- is there any difference?
According to a study taken place in the European Heart Journal, there were gender differences found within the use of a defibrillator for resuscitation. When resuscitation is attempted, women have lower survival rates at each successive stage of care. Women are also less likely to survive a sudden cardiac arrest from the time it happens to the hospital admission time.
Despite gender differences, the overall survival rate for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is already less than one in ten. Every minute someone experiences a sudden cardiac arrest without CPR or defibrillation, it reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent. This is why knowing how to use a defibrillator and learning CPR is an essential life skill to have.
So knowing that there are quite shocking statistics about gender differences for resuscitation, is the way a defibrillator is used different for men and women too? The answer is no! There are no differences in how to use a defibrillator between men and women, so learning one technique will give you the skill to help anyone.
Steps to be taken on how to use a defibrillator
The first thing is to ensure you have the correct defibrillator for your needs. Whether it’s for your workplace, local community centre or your neighbourhood, knowing which defibrillator to use is as vital as knowing how to use one. Here at Defib we supply a range of Automated External Defibrillators, our team can guide you through which ones are best suited for you.
Once you have your defibrillator, here are some simple steps that can be followed:
- Ensure the person’s chest is clear from any clothing or fabric. If the person was submerged in water prior to the sudden cardiac arrest, ensure they are completely dry before starting.
- Once the person is prepped and the defibrillator has been turned on, peel off the pads and attach them to the patient’s skin, one on each side of the chest.
- Stop CPR and let the defibrillator check the person’s heart rhythm. The defibrillator will decide if a shock is needed and a fully automatic defibrillator will shock the person itself, whilst a semi-automatic will advise you to push the button to initiate the shock
- CPR may need to be continued until the patient shows signs of life, the defibrillator will tell you if this is needed.
In order to be comfortable with using a defibrillator we recommend undertaking training to be prepared in any eventuality. Why not do the training with a group or organise it for your work and give the whole team some peace of mind?
How can you get trained on how to use a defibrillator?
A recent survey undertaken by St Johns Ambulance, found that only 15% of the public would feel confident using a defibrillator, this is why Defib are here, to reduce that gap and increase the confidence!
Investing in a defibrillator will provide you (and your team) with the chance to increase the survival rates! Investing in both training of how to use a defibrillator and the correct defibrillator will help combat the unpredictability of sudden cardiac arrest.
Defib offers training that can be provided at a location convenient to you and no prior experience is needed. If you’d like more information about the training, you can find it here. All our defibrillators we offer adhere to the British safety standards and regulations, a full list of the current defibrillators can be found here, our team would be happy to talk you through which one would be best suited for your needs. Why wait, start increasing the survival rates today!