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Following the death of high school basketball star Wes Leonard of sudden cardiac arrest, will the discussion of requiring automated external defibrillators in sporting venues be reopened?
The death of Wes Leonard from dilated cardiomyopathy, commonly known as an “enlarged heart,” raises again the question of requiring sporting venues to equip facilities with an automated external defibrillator (AED).
The American Heart Association strongly advocates for the placement of AEDs in targeted public areas, which includes sports arenas. Other areas that the AHA suggests for AED placement include gated communities, office complexes, doctor’s offices and shopping malls—public and private places where either many people gather, or where people who may be of high risk of cardiac arrest live or gather.
The AED is a computerized medical device that can actually check a person’s heart rhythm, and recognize whether or not the person needs a shock. If yes, it will advise the person using the AED when the shock is needed, using voice prompts, lights and text messages to guide the user. The AHA does not recommend a specific brand or model of AED, but they do indicate that they are all similar, and the same basic steps that guide the user apply to all brands and models. AEDs are, the AHA indicates, easy to use and safe. Training, similar to a CPR class, is available for AED use, as well.
The American Red Cross says that sudden cardiac arrest occurs in over 300,000 cases each year. The “Cardiac Survival Chain” is critical for survival of sudden cardiac arrest, and includes:
- Early access to care (immediately calling 911 or other emergency number)
- Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
- Early defibrillation
- Early institution of advanced cardiac life support
While many situations meet the first two steps in the chain, early defibrillation is frequently not met in time for sudden cardiac arrest patients and, according to the American Red Cross, access to early defibrillation is recognized as the most important step. While manual CPR is important, it cannot replace defibrillation, and cannot reverse sudden cardiac arrest and restore a patient’s heartbeat. If defibrillation is administered within four minutes of the collapse, the American Red Cross indicates the chances of revival and survival are greatest. Every minute the patient is unconscious, in fact, results in a 10 percent decrease in the likelihood of survival. Thus, after 10 minutes, very few attempts at reviving a patient with sudden cardiac arrest are successful. Equipping public venues with AEDs is important, the American Red Cross says, because it is often hard for emergency personnel to reach a patient on-site within the critical 10-minute window.
Some worry that public access to AEDs could result in patients receiving unnecessary shocks. However, both the AHA and the American Red Cross indicate that the device itself will only allow a shock to be given when it detects the need to provide the shock, and it will then indicate to the user how to administer it. But, if it does not detect the need for administering a shock to the patient, the AED will instruct the rescuer to give CPR, including compressions and rescue breaths, as needed.
The cost of an AED ranges from approximately $1,500 to $3,000 in the U.S.
At this time, whether or not Wes Leonard received defibrillation in the critical 10-minute window, or whether an AED device was available in the gym venue has not been disclosed. However, the death of such a young and, by all accounts, promising life opens a new window of discussion on the question of requiring AED devices in all sporting venues: Should they be present?
The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross both advocate “yes.”
Read more about the case of Wes Leonard on Huliq.com: Enlarged heart found to be cause of death for Wes Leonard High school basketball star Wes Leonard dies after making winning shot Image: Wikimedia Commons
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