Rockwell Automation, a manufacturer of transmission products, motors, and drives, announced in August that it would be placing Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) inside 30 of its North American plants and offices. The decision comes in response to mounting evidence that immediate defibrillation greatly increases the chances of surviving sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, with survival rates for SCA at only 5%. The American Heart Association estimates that 250 more lives per day could be saved if defibrillators were more widely available to first responders.

"Placing these defibrillators in our facilities is the right thing to do," said Joseph Swann, president, power systems, Rockwell Automation. "We hope that we will never need to use them, but just in case, we want our employees and their families to have the peace of mind that comes with knowing help is available."

A defibrillator is a device that delivers an electric shock to the heart, allowing a normal heart beat to resume. Defibrillation is the only proven therapy to restore a normal heartbeat after cardiac arrest. Several studies have shown that if a shock can be administered within 5 to 6 minutes of the onset of a SCA event, survival rates approach 50%. However, with each minute of delay until defibrillation, the survival rate decreases by about 10%. The inaccessibility of defibrillators makes it difficult to save a person during the critical 2 to 3 minutes after cardiac arrest, and unfortunately, the average response time for defibrillator-equipped and -trained emergency medical personnel is more than 10 minutes in many cities.

Survivalink Corp.'s FirstSave AED is a device capable of identifying life-threatening heart rhythms that can be converted by electric shocks. Through the use of a computerized process, the AED can analyze and identify ventricular fibrillation (chaotic unorganized movement of the heart) and ventricular tachycardia (abnormally fast contractions of the heart), the two most common life-threatening heart rhythms that can be converted with electrical therapy.

To ensure proper usage, the AED has visual and audible prompts that guide the user through the rescue process. Once the lid is opened, the FirstSave AED automatically analyzes the heart rhythm and, if a shockable rhythm is identified, automatically charges to deliver a shock with the push of only one button.

Implementation of the devices at Rockwell operations took about a month, beginning September 1. Training is already under way to prepare employees to use the equipment in the event of an emergency. At present, Rockwell facilities outside North America are being evaluated on the basis of their needs and governmental requirements regarding AEDs.

Since the Minneapolis-based company's first AED received market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995, Survivalink estimates that its units have been used to save nearly 2,000 lives. Corporations, as well as police and fire departments, airlines, and public facilities, use the AEDs around the world.