SHENZHEN is planning to put 5,000 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public places to provide timely treatment for people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, according to a Southern Metropolis Daily report.

The city’s health and family planning commission has set aside an earmark to purchase 5,000 AEDs during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The AEDs will be gradually put into use in public places such as the airport, ferry piers, railway stations and Metro stations, while 50,000 people will be trained in first aid and the use of AEDs.

According to the government plan, the city will spend 10 million yuan (US$1.51 million) to purchase 500 AEDs this year. In the coming 10 years, 18,000 AEDs are expected to be installed across the city, with 180,000 first responders trained.

Currently, AEDs have been put into use in many public places in the city, such as the Shekou Port, Tsinghua University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Foreign Languages School, Shenzhen East Railway Station and Shenzhen International Airport, according to the report. AEDs are easy-to-use and portable electric devices that allow people without medical backgrounds to perform electric defibrillation. Many developed Western countries have had AEDs installed in public places since 2000, which has raised the success rate of CPR treatment from 2 percent to 60 percent globally.

According to the American Red Cross, sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. An AED is the only effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest.

Time is of the essence when saving patients with sudden cardiac arrest. The average response time for first responders is eight to 12 minutes. For each minute defibrillation is delayed, the chance of survival is reduced by approximately 10 percent.

How to use an AED

Before using an AED, check if the patient is unconscious. If the patient doesn’t respond, call 120 and get the AED.

Check the patient’s breathing and pulse. If their breathing and pulse are absent or irregular, begin administering CPR and artificial respiration and prepare to use the AED as soon as possible.

Turn on the AED’s power. The device will give you step-by-step instructions. You’ll hear voice prompts and see the patient’s heart rhythm on the screen.

Expose the person’s chest. If the person’s chest is wet, dry it. AEDs have sticky pads with sensors called electrodes. Apply the pads to the person’s chest as pictured on the AED’s instructions.

Place one pad on the right-center of the person’s chest, above the nipple. Place the other pad slightly below the other nipple and to the left of the ribcage.

After you use the AED, give CPR until emergency medical help arrives or until the person begins to move.

After two minutes of CPR, you can use the AED again to check the person’s heart rhythm and administer another shock if needed. If a shock isn’t needed, continue CPR. (Zhang Yang)