Maimonides Medical Center Reports Cardiac Arrest Survival Rate Nearly 100 Percent From Use of Cardiac Science's Powerheart(R)
Compelling Clinical Results Lead to Hospital's Deployment Of 36 Additional Powerhearts; Total Devices in Use Now 140
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cardiac Science, Inc. (Nasdaq: DFIB - news), the only provider of life-saving, fully-automatic external cardiac defibrillators, today reported that Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, the third largest independent teaching hospital in the United States, has experienced significantly improved outcomes in its hospitalized patients who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest since Maimonides deployed 104 Cardiac Science Powerhearts in its cardiology wards last August.
Maimonides Medical Center's Director of Clinical Cardiology Gerald Hollander M.D. said the implementation of Powerheart technology at Maimonides has already greatly exceeded expectations and has impacted positively the outcomes of cardiac patients suffering sudden cardiac arrest in the hospital's wards equipped with Powerheart. As a result, an additional 36 devices are being deployed, increasing the number of Powerheart bedside monitor- defibrillators installed in the hospital to 140.
``The impact made at Maimonides by Powerheart technology has been dramatic and has facilitated a fundamental change in our approach to the treatment of cardiac arrest,'' Hollander commented. ``The installation of the equipment and staff orientation to new protocols have been remarkably successful. Powerheart is attached routinely to our cardiac patients, allows for around- the-clock monitoring, and when necessary, provides immediate delivery of a defibrillation shock for patients who experience a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm. The key to this new technology is the speed at which the life- saving therapy is provided, since it does not require intervention by a nurse or doctor. Since we no longer have to scramble to get to the patient's bedside it eliminates the possibility of the chaos that can ensue when a 'code-blue' alarm is sounded. The time from arrhythmia onset to successful defibrillation has been greatly reduced.''
Louise Valerio, R.N., Executive Director, Cardiovascular Services at Maimonides, said, ``In the first four months following the installation of the Powerheart devices in our cardiac care units, intensive care, step-down telemetry wards and emergency room, we had many therapy interventions by the Powerheart. All those patients were successfully returned to a normal cardiac rhythm by Powerheart in a matter of seconds. As a result of this immediate intervention, there was no need to deploy our crash-cart team, and amazingly, none of our patients required intubation. In a very short time, Powerheart has led to greater efficiency and a higher quality of care for our cardiac patients.''
About In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and the Urgency of Response
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is caused by abnormal heart rhythms and results in a quivering heart muscle unable to pump oxygen to the brain or blood through the body. Each year it is estimated that more than 300,000 hospitalized patients in the United States experience SCA with approximately 20 percent of those patients surviving to discharge.
Once the heart muscle is unable to pump blood through the body due to the onset of SCA, oxygen loss begins to injure the brain and heart, and a person quickly loses consciousness and will die within minutes if not defibrillated.
External defibrillation provides a brief, effective electric shock through the person's chest to the heart, restoring the heart's normal rhythm. The ability to defibrillate within seconds saves lives and minimizes brain damage, reduces patient complications and the diminished quality of life that often occurs when defibrillation is withheld for even a few minutes.
Last year the American Heart Association revised CPR and emergency cardiac care guidelines to place major emphasis on the need for immediate defibrillation, and for the first time established specific response time goals for cardiac resuscitation. The AHA stated that reducing the time to first shock by as little as one minute does more to improve patient survival than all current resuscitation interventions combined. |
