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Who Can use Them?
Sixth
graders can figure out how to use AED given no instructions and a few
minutes to experiment. Their use is that intuitive. However during a
cardiac arrest is no time to begin experimenting with the life saving
device.
People
wishing to learn to use AEDs should register for a course offered by one
of the national certification agencies – the American Heart Association,
the American Red Cross, or the National Safety Council (See Training). In
four hours, these courses teach the signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest,
the steps in the chain of survival, treating a victim who is choking, how
to administer CPR to an adult, and how to use the AED in conjunction with
CPR. It also describes how to accommodate abnormal situations during a
rescue (e.g. a person with a hairy chest or who is wearing a nicotine
patch or who has a pacemaker). All of these conditions can be overcome and
an AED can be used effectively.
The
course is designed to build confidence as well as skills. It uses a lot of
hands on practice in simulated emergency situations and students are
encouraged to practice on their own until the process becomes more
natural. Anyone over the age of fourteen or fifteen who expresses an
interest should be given the opportunity to take the course. The more
people trained, the more opportunities for saving lives.
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