Study gives guage for buying defibrillators

A joint study between the University of Iowa and University of Michigan looks to help businesses and others decide if they need to purchase a defribrillator. The automated devices are used to deliver a shock to the heart of someone in cardiac arrest and cost around three-thousand dollars. Doctor Steven Cram from the U-of-I says they wanted to help people determine if that is a good investment. He says the American Heart Association guidelines say you should purchase a defibrillator if you’re sure you’re going to use the device at least once in a five-year period. Cram says the study found the Heart Association guidelines are accurate. He says if you’re in a location where there’s going to be at least one cardiac arrest in five years — it’s a good way to spend health care resources. Cram says there are some guidelines to help you determined if your location is “high risk.” He says the decision should be based on how many people are at the location, whether those people are at risk of having a cardiac arrest, and how many hours a day the people are at the location. For example, he says a nursing home is an example of a place where you might want to buy a defribrillator, but a school isn’t. He says the school is filled with mostly low-risk children who’re only there five days a week, so it’s not a good place to have a defibrillator. Many schools buy a defibrillators for their sports stadiums. Cram says it’s okay if you have a defribrillator available. He says it’s good to have one at the stadium on game day, but it’s not needed the rest of the week. Cram says you also have to have the defibrillator available for use. He says if it’s purchased, but locked in a closet where noone can get to it, it doesn’t do any good.