Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Zoll AED Plus And SCA in Young Athletes

By C Allyn Cutts

It does happen; a young athlete dies of a cardiac arrest on the playing field. A sudden cardiac arrest or SCA, the heart stops pumping blood because the brain is not sending the right signals to control the heart muscle. Death can occur quickly, without treatment such as with a Zoll AED Plus.

The victim is already clinically dead as the heart is not pumping but it can be restarted with this device. The same technology a paramedic would use if they were there. The sad thing is there is not enough time for an ambulance to get to the victim before they are beyond help. This device can save a life in an emergency situation. It is the difference between life and because time is the deciding factor in these cases.

This type of SCA occurs without warning. It is not due to a blood clot or blockage as in a traditional heart attack. It is caused by electrical impulses not giving out the right signal to regulate the heart muscle. It happens in a lot of cases due to heart disease that is inherited from family members with similar heart problems.

Often the person has no idea they have a heart problem. This makes it even more tragic when they suffer a serious cardiac arrest. It is also caused from a player being injured on the field from a baseball hitting them in the chest or other injuries.

If an athlete has congenital heart problems or a family history of heart defects, physical activity can cause a sudden cardiac arrest. Most athletes who have a sudden cardiac arrest do so after they have had a strenuous workout or training session, which shows that strenuous physical activity is related to an episode of SCA.

Young athletic playing field should have emergency equipment on hand to deal with a sudden cardiac arrest. The Zoll AED Plus will save a life in case of an emergency if it is due to a sudden cardiac arrest. There will not be time to get an EMT on the scene. A case like this needs immediate treatment to save their life. Organization that has an athletic team should get one of these to keep on hand to avoid the pain and suffering from the death of a loved one. It may never be needed but in the rare case it is, it will be there to save a life.

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