Low Rises Increase Your Chance of Survival
Although a view from the top can be quite beautiful there are also risks that come along with working or living in high-rise buildings. One of these risk factors is access to defibrillators as the higher you are the lower your chances of survival. A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Journal Association proves this with Canadian facts:
For those who call 911 from a high-rise, the odds of survival from cardiac arrest depend on what floor the patient lives. That’s the main conclusion of an intriguing study by a paramedic and doctors with Rescu, a university and hospital research program in Toronto that focuses on patients who suffer heart and other life threatening emergencies outside of hospital. Researchers looked at the 911 records of more than 8200 people in Toronto who suffered cardiac arrest at a private residence. 4.2% of the nearly six thousand of them who lived on the first or second floor survived a cardiac arrest. Just 2.6% of the 1844 people living on or above the third floor survived. A dismal 0.9% of those who resided above the 16th floor lived; for those who lived above the 25th floor, the chance of survival was zero.
Although these are staggering and devastating facts there are ways of creating safer living environments, such as acquiring an Automated External Defibrillator. Because of the extra time it takes emergency personal to reach those residing on higher floors, being as close as possible to an AED could mean the difference between life and death.
For those working in office buildings the First Aid Canada Team recommends the Philips HearStart Onsite Defibrillator. There are many reasons why this defibrillator is best to have onsite in an office including: easy to use, self-testing, visual cues, guided audio instructions, etc. For more information on this model click here, or for more information on AEDs in the workplace click here for our blog. It is also recommended that depending on the office size that a defibrillator be within 3 minutes of the victim, so if your office is a couple of floors it would be an educated choice to acquire and AED for all floors.
For those living in high-rise buildings an AED is highly recommended if heart disease is present or a risk factor. In the case of acquiring an AED for the home in a high rise building the First Aid Canada Team recommends the Philips HeartStart Home Automated External Defibrillator. This defibrillator is extremely easy to use, portable, contains visual and audio instructions, has a quick shock feature, etc. For more information on AEDs for the home, click here for our recent blog or click here for more information on the Philips HeartStart Home AED Model.
If you have any questions on these life-saving devices please feel free to contact the First Aid Canada Team at 1-866-322-4243.