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Cardiology

Automated External Defibrillators for Home Use Becoming Reality

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

In a significant breakthrough, a partnership between PDSHeart, Inc., and Medtronic, Inc. is set to make automated external defibrillators (AEDs) available for patient home use. Recent changes in Medicare guidelines now allow patients to rent-to-own the life-saving technology. The PDSHeart program offers a monthly turnkey service plan, adding no cost to a physician practice and providing an affordable option for patients under their care.

Key Takeaways:

  • The PDSHeart program offers a monthly turnkey service plan for AEDs, which is affordable for patients under their care and adds no cost to a physician practice.
  • The American Heart Association estimates that up to 450,000 Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, with nearly 80% happening in the home.
  • Out-of-hospital survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest are about 5%, and recent studies show up to 70% of victims survive when AEDs are accessible and used within 3-4 minutes.
  • Early defibrillation can dramatically improve survival rates, and the risk for sudden cardiac death is greatly reduced if a patient has quick access to an AED.
  • The LIFEPAK CR Plus AED is fully automatic, analyzing the heart's electrical function and delivering a shock if needed, making it a preferred AED for home use.
  • PDSHeart already provides arrhythmia monitoring/management devices and services to over 100,000 patients annually from more than 18,000 physicians and hundreds of hospitals and clinics across the country.
  • Medtronic is the world's leading provider of external defibrillators, and PDSHeart President and CEO Sean Heyniger emphasizes the importance of making AEDs as common in the home as smoke detectors.

Statistics:

  • Up to 450,000 Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, with nearly 80% happening in the home [1].
  • Out-of-hospital survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest are about 5% [2].
  • Recent studies show up to 70% of victims survive when AEDs are accessible and used within 3-4 minutes [3].
  • The risk for sudden cardiac death is greatly reduced if a patient has quick access to an AED, with post myocardial infarction (MI) patients being at the greatest risk for up to 18 months [4].
  • Only 20% or less of patients who experience cardiac arrest survive if EMS takes more than 8 minutes to deliver a shock [5].

Sources:

  • NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net
  • PDSHeart, Inc.
  • Medtronic, Inc.
  • American Heart Association
  • Heart Disease Weekly editors

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