Home > News > Article Display

AED, CPR can be crucial to saving a life

By Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen, 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs / Published January 17, 2012

PRINT | E-MAIL
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- When a person's heart stops beating or it goes into a specific heart rate that cannot sustain life, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and operating an automated external defibrillator becomes crucial.

"Pumping on the chest and getting air into the lungs goes hand in hand with an AED because defibrillation increases the likelihood of making the heart start beating again with a rhythm to survive," said Tech. Sgt. Thompson medical operations NCO in charge with the 819th RED HORSE Squadron.

According to Thompson, an instructor of Basic Life Support, CPR and Heartsaver AED courses, the American Heart Association recommends that an AED be automatically placed on a person in need of CPR. CPR is advised after a person appears to not be breathing after 10 seconds.

Many would assume that in order to properly operate an AED/perform CPR, one would need to be certified, however, that is not the case.

"Anyone can use an AED," Thompson said. "Once you turn it on, it's very self explanatory. It will tell you exactly how to use it and when to use it. The majority of AEDs will also tell you how to perform CPR and will walk you through the steps of it. No one should ever be afraid to use an AED because it can't give an electrical shock to someone who doesn't need a one. As long as you follow the directions, you won't hurt yourself."

Lt. Col. Jennifer Ravenscroft, chief of medical staff with the 341st Medical Operations Squadron reiterates Thompson's insight on the use of AEDs.

"An AED is a lifesaving device," Ravenscroft said. "Once a person's heart starts beating abnormally, there are usually only a couple of minutes before it goes into full arrest and cannot be restarted. If a patient's heart is in a rhythm known as ventricular fibrillation, the only way to get it back to normal is to shock it. CPR may keep the blood flowing to the brain, heart and other vital organs for a few minutes -while the AED is prepared- but it will not cause the heart to resume its regular rhythm. Only an electrical shock will do that. If the heart stays in ventricular fibrillation too long, it will become too damaged for even an electrical shock to restore it to life. Therefore, it is important that an electrical shock is delivered as soon as possible when this happens."

Accidents can happen anywhere-from the work place to the Fitness Center to the Education and Training Center. Because the amount of time a person has to live drops drastically when the heart goes into an abnormal rhythm, operating an AED and performing CPR with confidence is crucial and can potentially save a person's life.
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.