WHILE most golf clubs have defibrillators at the ready in case a person suffers an on-site heart attack, a new device is now available to help save patients’ lives.
Melbourne company, HeartSmart, has secured the world-wide distribution rights for a mechanical device called a CPR Helper which sits on the chest outside a patient’s clothing and audibly confirms their heartbeat.
“It’s not instead of a defibrillator but complementary to it,” says HeartSmart’s chief operating officer, John Caust.
The company is already rolling the new device out to golf clubs.
It has been devised to provide an assessment of the patient and save valuable time before a defibrillator can be accessed.
HeartSmart says there is a lack of confidence and knowledge to act when presented with an incident and a lack of understanding of the difference between a heart attack and a sudden cardiac arrest.
Both require CPR to be administered. But the German manufactured CPR Helper tells you if you are going about it the right way.
“The CPR Helper sits on the patient’s chest and audibly confirms the correct pressure of compressions, 120 of every minute,” says Caust
“The device CLICKS on the way down and CLACKS on the way up….thus ‘CLICK CLACK BRIGE THE GAP’!…the gap being the time waiting for a ‘defib’ or once being used, the identification of a heart attack, thus requiring consistent CPR until the emergency services arrive.
“A ‘defib’ is automatic and will guide you once it is on the patient but there are ‘blocks’: What to do before the defib arrives? What to do if the defib does not react?”
HeartSmart was founded to provide bystander assistance in the event of Sudden Cardiac Arrest which claimed 28,000 Australian lives last year.
“There are more ‘defibs’ in the market, more first aid training but scarily more deaths than ever before,” Caust says.
He believes there is a lack of confidence and knowledge to act when presented with an incident on course and a lack of understanding of the difference between a heart attack and a sudden cardiac arrest.
FOOTNOTE: The official global launch of the HeartSmart CPR Helper was carried out at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide by Independent South Australian Minister, Frank Pangello.
“This is a major initiative where a CPR helper should be in every household-apart from its low cost compared to a ‘defib’, it is non-invasive,” Caust says.
“Grange Golf Club has become a HeartSmart member, along with many more golf clubs and we are currently in discussions to have CPR Helpers in every golf cart.”
Story prepared by Inside Golf for HeartSmart
The post Clubs go HeartSmart with new CPR Helper device first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.